The Teachings of Demons M-Rated Content
by ImpracticalDemon
Summary: Full version of Chapter *60* of the story The Teachings of Demons. Chizuru's wedding night. Chapter 60 in the story is abridged as the full story is rated T. Chapter *64* (small sections at the beginning and end of the chapter) Chapter *69* (section in middle) Chapter *74* Chapter *84* (at the end)
1. The Wedding Night

**Author's Note:**

 **With thanks to many kind readers for reviews and encouragement here and on Tumblr.** Your appreciation for chapter 59 made writing this chapter easier, although I still didn't find it easy.

 **Welcome to chapter 60**. After dithering back and forth over Saitou and Chizuru's wedding night, and whether to politely fade to black in order to preserve the T-rating of this story, I decided to just write the chapter and see how it went. Since "how it went" crossed the line from fluff into smut (though not by much considering a lot of what I've seen on this site!), it needs an M rating. The full chapter is found below.

For those of you who remember that I promised two chapters "within a week", I want to let you know that it was all written by late yesterday afternoon. However, given my sleepy, cold-infused brain, I decided to have somebody read over some of it. Consequently, after getting a bit of sleep, and doing a bit of editing, you are getting this today instead!

Thank you to everyone for reading, favouriting and following! All reviews, comments and encouragement are appreciated!

~ImpracticalOni

* * *

 **Quote:**

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves,  
and not to twist them to fit our own image.  
Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.

- **Thomas Merton**

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,  
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."

\- **Shakespeare** , _A Midsummer Night's Dream_

"Doubt thou the stars are fire;  
Doubt that the sun doth move;  
Doubt truth to be a liar;  
But never doubt I love."

\- **William Shakespeare** , _Hamlet_

* * *

 **Chapter 60 – The Wedding Night**

* * *

 **[I] - Alone at Last**

* * *

Saitō and Chizuru's guest rooms were on the first floor, in a wing of the house that neither had been in before. The house itself was built in a fairly typical L-shape, meaning that they would have seen the inner-facing side of this wing when they were in the back garden area that led toward the small woods. It was sobering to realize that the style and size of the house made it clear that it had been designed to accommodate a much larger family as well as important guests and visiting relatives.

Saitō slid open a panel with floor lamps to either side of it, and Chizuru was touched by the care that had been put into preparing such rooms for them, since it seemed likely that the wing as a whole was rarely used. They had obviously been given rooms considered appropriate to their stations within Oni society, and although their time together was limited, they stood hand-in-hand for several moments just staring around them at the elegant sitting area, lit with soft lamps and furnished with silk cushions and low, lacquered tables. Through the partially shuttered windows they could see that the storm still blew outside, though its first fury seemed to have abated.

The newly-married couple had not spoken since leaving the practical and political woes of the current situation behind them, physically as well as metaphorically. The silence was not uncomfortable; it was soothing, if anything, although perhaps a little shy.

Still hand in hand, they finally walked further into the room, so that they could make out other rooms beyond this one, through panels left deliberately ajar in order to let them know that there was a separate bedchamber with futons laid out for them, and a washing room with basins of water and folded linen hand-cloths and towels. Saitō turned to his new wife and laid his free hand on her cheek.

"It is all very impressive, but…" Then he smiled down at Chizuru and it was evident that the room had ceased to interest him very much. "Right now, I can't think of anything but holding you." His hand slid across her cheek and around behind her head, and then he kissed her. His other hand released hers and slid up to her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

The kiss went on for a very long time, and as lips and tongues met and tasted and explored, Chizuru felt her heartbeat accelerate and her breathing become more shallow. As before, it was alarming, and exhilarating and embarrassing all at once. She felt Saitō's hold on her become increasingly more crushing, so that despite all of the many, many folds of material between them, she could feel the heat and the hard muscles of his body pressing against her. She was beginning to feel as though her knees might buckle when Saitō suddenly ducked his head away from hers, his hands moving to grip her upper arms almost tightly enough to be painful. She blinked, and then tried to focus on him, bewildered.

"Hajime?" The name came out as a whisper.

He just shook his head at her, still looking down and away. A full minute passed while Chizuru attempted to clear her senses enough to understand what was wrong. It was a little like previous times when he had seemed very happy to be with her and then abruptly ill-at-ease with what he was doing.

After a second minute had passed, the aching grip on her arms eased and Saitō finally met her troubled eyes.

" _Gomenasai_ … Chizuru, dear one. My self-control is contemptible when I am with you."

"But…"

"No, wait. Just… let me do this one thing right at least."

When she nodded, still uncomprehending, he sighed and scrubbed the back of one hand across his face. Then he drew a deep breath, as if gathering his courage, and managed a half-smile.

"I never meant any of this to happen the way that it has. But you already know that."

"Yes. If you had gotten your way, we would have gone for occasional walks together and gotten to know each other at a more orderly pace. Eventually, after a suitable interval—perhaps a year or two—you might have kissed me. Instead of which…"

"Instead of which, here you are married—"

"—to the man I wanted to marry, which is more than most girls are allowed to do. Are you afraid that I will wake up tomorrow, or the day after that, or some day in the future, resentful that I was hurried down this path and driven into your arms?"

Even the wind howling outside seemed to pause for a moment as Saitō considered his answer. Then he nodded slowly.

"Yes. I do worry about… that. And other things. But you keep telling me that you want to be with me, no matter what. So that's just how it is. I just have to believe you."

Chizuru breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Then I feel like I've won something," she said, face brightening.

Saitō didn't answer. Instead, he was studying her hair and her kimono.

"My wife, I believe that you will need assistance with those clothes. I expect that we will find suitable places for this finery in the bedchamber. Shall we go?" He released her arms altogether and held out a somewhat imperative hand.

Chizuru felt a fluttering in the pit of her stomach and colour rushed into her cheeks again. Saitō appeared to be much calmer than she was now and also quite focused. With only the tiniest hesitation, she took the proffered hand.

"Yes, my husband." Chizuru was pleased to see Saitō's cheeks redden and his lips curve a little into another smile.

They went through into the room containing the futons, and Saitō closed the door behind them. As expected, the room was furnished with everything that they could need, and in fact the wardrobe held their own clothes, carefully folded or hanging, as appropriate.

Chizuru couldn't help but look around in some wonder at everything, much as she had in Osen-chan's dressing room. It emphasized that her cousin was, in fact, a princess. Surrounded by such luxury, Chizuru could almost bring herself to understand that Yukimura Chizuru, daughter of an Edo doctor and most recently something of a servant to the officers of the Shinsengumi, was of very high rank as well. And she was marrying – no, was married to – her prince. She turned to Saitō, her eyes shining.

What she saw on his face made her forget her fairy tales and brought back the nerve-wracking-but-exciting feeling in the pit of her stomach. For the first time since the wedding, she could sense him more clearly again and his mind was clear although his emotions were chaotic.

"I want you very much, Chizuru. I don't dare—haven't dared—tell you how much. It was inappropriate, and embarrassing, probably for both of us. But when you look at me like that, as if I am all you ever wanted, it's difficult to hold back. May I help you to undress now?" Saitō was already deftly unknotting the silk ties of his _haori_. A moment later, the beautiful, midnight-blue garment lay neatly across a rack.

Torn between nerves, and love, and wanting to be with him, Chizuru just nodded, holding her arms away from her sides so that the heavy obi could be untied. Saitō was immediately at her side, his own sash untied, and sash and sword already stored away. She wasn't quite sure how he had been able to do so much, so quickly, but it seemed unimportant. He stroked her cheek and then the side of her neck, stole a passionate kiss that she thought made her toes curl slightly, and then deftly untied the pretty, patterned obi. It was already put away when the bride discovered her husband standing in front of her with a hungry, burning expression that left no doubt as to his intentions.

"I will hang up your kimono in a moment," Saitō murmured softly into her ear, stooping to kiss her temple and then running the tip of his tongue along her ear. His strong hands had already slipped within her unfastened kimono and were skimming her sides and hips and back along the thin fabric of her light _nagajuban_ (under-kimono). The overall sensation made her gasp. He had somehow managed to remove all of his own clothing except the hakama, and by the light of the single lamp in one corner of the bedroom, she found his lean, chiselled form to be breathtaking.

Almost involuntarily, Chizuru lifted one of her hands to his shoulder and the other to his chest, finding that the sensation of running her hand freely across the warmth and softness of his skin, itself taut over firm muscle and strong bone, made the blood rush through her veins to the point where she practically couldn't hear him when he next spoke:

"Now the kimono, dear one." She couldn't make out his face clearly, but she heard him swallow. "And then… we'll see."

As she stood there, lightly trembling and flushed from far more than just embarrassment, Saitō carefully lifted the heavy silk kimono from her shoulders, put it— _somewhere_ —she truly didn't care at that point—and then came up behind her to remove the last of the pins and combs from her hair. It tumbled down past her shoulders in a soft, dark cascade that was still regrettably shorter than Saitō's beautiful indigo hair. She couldn't remember if she'd told him how much she liked his hair.

Saitō put his arms around her from behind, so that his left hand brushed the thin under-kimono along her belly and the other hand loosely gripped her left shoulder. She heard and felt him breathing into her hair, and his breaths were clearly shorter and more uneven than usual. He was aroused in mind, soul and body and she could feel or sense each one.

"Chizuru?" Dark, rough tones, but still with a clear thread of control.

"Y-yes… Hajime?"

"I… need to know. Whether I can take you to my bed now. I want to touch every part of you, I want to be with you, I just want you, _so much_. But if you cannot, if it is too soon… I will stop… I'll leave. I just need to know now, while some shred of reason remains."

Chizuru turned in his arms, and the vice-like grip allowed her to move. She laced her fingers into his hair and pressed a fervent, passionate kiss against his lips. Saitō's hands tightened in the folds of her _nagajuban_ before sliding under the light material to pull her skin to skin with him against his chest. Chizuru felt her body react almost immediately to his touch and to the sensation of her breasts against his bare skin.

 _Chizuru!_ An almost desperate plea. _I need to know!_

 _Yes. Yes of course. Hajime. My husband, my lover. First and always._

With an inarticulate cry, Saitō stripped off the last of her clothing, and then his own. His hands, strong and calloused, but infinitely loving, caressed her small breasts, and traced her collarbones and her gently rounded hips. A moment later—how did he move like that?—he was pressing her down into one of the thick, soft futons. His weight on her, his mouth on her neck and shoulders and lips, it was the strangest bliss she'd ever felt. To touch his skin—to diffidently run her hands along his back and lightly perspiring flanks. It was a revelation to her, and a hundred half-remembered conversations suddenly made sense.

When his tongue began to push harder into her mouth, while his roughened hands gripped her hips and seemed to grind him against her, Chizuru was embarrassed to discover that no matter how hard she tried to just _be there_ for him, her body moved of its own accord and small cries seemed to escape her lips. She also found that the next time one of his hands moved up to rub across the tip of a breast, her whole body moved, as though trying to get closer to him. It was an incredible feeling and she was a little overwhelmed by it. To anchor herself, she reached out to him with her mind, focussing on the one thing that she hadn't been quite brave enough ask about earlier.

 _I would like a child with you,_ she told him, in a dreamy voice that was slightly detached from all the sensation being processed by the rest of her. _If that's alright… Only, I think it is very likely…_

 _I know. I was warned. And I wish that I could keep you all to myself but… to create a child with you… That's a wonderful thing too. … Not long now, dear one… I can't, I can't wait…_

 _Oh! So… what now?_

The question struck Saitō as very funny, and he sat back slightly on his heels, breathing heavily and admiring his naked wife beneath him. He couldn't keep his hands from her skin, and especially her breasts. There was very little apprehension in her; mostly, he sensed desire, a kind of wondering curiosity, and complete trust. If he had been capable of any more strong emotion just then, that last would have terrified him.

He shifted down further, and she continued to watch him from under her lashes. One of his hands moved lower, from tracing circles on her belly to brushing the length of the soft, slightly damp place where her legs met. Her eyes opened fully for a long moment and he could tell that she was less confident now, with the terrible (or possibly wonderful) moment truly upon her. He wished—not for the first time that night—that he were a more experienced lover, but he would have to do the best that he could.

He moved the pad of his thumb down along the opening one more time, carefully attuned to what pleased his wife best. Her soft cries of surprise and pleasure were as exciting as everything else, and he had been truthful when he had said that he was reaching the limit of his control. With somewhat desperate concentration, he slowly slid himself into her, unable to restrain a moan of pleasure at the feeling of her tightness around him. Then he couldn't easily go further forward, and he wished—how he wished—that she would not have to feel this pain.

 _It's alright, Hajime, please… just, don't wait too long… please…_

He gasped, as she raised her hips slightly against him and his over-sensitized nerves and body pleaded for release. _I am sorry Chizuru, I am sorry, but thank you thank you…_ With a slightly wild cry, he drove himself into her, heart bleeding as he sensed her pain. Blinding sensation cascaded over him, so that he lost track of everything else but Chizuru, it seemed: Chizuru and overwhelming pleasure and relief and frightening, absolute loss of control. _My gift to you, my dear one, my heart… to be completely undone like this…_

To his great surprise, as he shuddered through his final release, he felt a small hand tangle in his sweat-soaked hair and pull him down, so that their bruised lips met and their tongues explored each other's mouths once again. The rounded hips below him were rising to meet him and he sensed no pain from Chizuru, only confident joy. His final cry found a quieter echo in hers, and he waited for her tremors to slow and finally stop before reluctantly disentangling himself so that he would not collapse on top of her.

They lay together for some time like that, side by side, bodies touching here and there. Finally, after drawing a long breath and noting that the frantic racing of his heart had mostly slowed, Saito propped his head up on one elbow and placed a rather shy hand on his wife's shoulder. Not surprisingly, perhaps, they were both rather nervous.

"I… do not have the proper words," he said awkwardly. "And, I hurt you… I am sorry…"

Her hand caught his and moved it to her lips.

"Please don't be sorry, Hajime. I'm very well," Chizuru reassured him softly, although she was blushing again. It would take time and effort to get used to being seen like this, even by her husband, and she could feel his gaze on her body again. It took an effort not to curl up, or turn away, or reach for the covers. Instead she continued:

"Right now, with you, I'm _happy_. And the pain didn't last at all." The last part was the absolute truth. It _had_ hurt—more than she'd expected—and then the pain had been gone almost immediately, to be replaced by completely different sensations altogether. It was an aspect of Oni healing that she hadn't thought to ask about. She doubted she would have managed to ask even if she'd thought of it.

Experimentally, Saitō hooked a leg over hers so that they could be closer; it seemed to be acceptable, or at least not uncomfortable, for her. When Chizuru had finished kissing his fingers, he reclaimed his hand and brushed several tendrils of dark hair out of her face. Then, very cautiously, he moved his hand over her body again, just because he finally, _finally_ could. He knew that his face was flushed, and he knew that he wasn't yet as good as he should be for her, but the embarrassment simply had to be ignored while he did his best to improve; in any event, it was negligible compared to the overwhelming sense of physical and also emotional satisfaction.

It dawned on Saitō, as his hand continued to move across Chizuru's body, that he was very grateful that she allowed him to read her thoughts and feelings. It helped a great deal to know that she had gotten some pleasure from him earlier—that it hadn't been all one-sided. He was still a little shaken by how difficult it had been to focus beyond his own pressing desire; once again, he assumed—or he hoped—that he would manage better with time. He had some doubts on that, though; even experienced, competent men seemed to make foolish mistakes when it came to passionate love.

"Hajime?"

Saitō instantly stilled his hand, which had been lingering on the soft area of Chizuru's lower belly. He was acutely embarrassed at being caught enthralled by her skin, as well by the area that now lay just an inch or two away from his exploring fingers. Unconsciously biting at his lower lip—an extraordinary sight that made Chizuru almost want to giggle—he met his lover's eyes inquiringly.

"I don't mind sharing your room with you, Hajime. I don't need much space."

This time it was Saitō who was slightly amused.

"You would rather come back to the compound with me than have all of this? Assuming that Kondō-san would even give you permission… I think that you might be better off here, now. Especially if…" He hesitated, but finally finished his sentence: "Especially if you are with child."

With wholly unfeigned apprehension, Chizuru moved closer to him.

"Hajime… I will do whatever you say, but I'd be much happier, and I'd feel much safer, if we could live together…"

With some dismay, Saitō discovered that fatigue and undeniably important personal matters were not sufficient to distract him from the resurgent lust. He kissed the parted lips that were now invitingly close to his, and allowed his free hand to trail downward until his fingertips could caress the dark, curls that had captured his attention a few minutes before. He heard and felt Chizuru catch her breath in surprise, and her body moved slightly, pressing itself up into his hand. Saitō lifted his lips from hers and looked down at her. He received the same luminous, trusting, passionate look as he had seen before and it was as if she had touched all of him at once.

"I think," he murmured against her mouth, as his calloused, but still gentle, fingers started to explore her further, "that we should pay attention to other things right now."

As far as he could tell, Chizuru's body seemed to agree with him. In her mind and on her lips all he heard was his name. With rare recklessness, Saitō abandoned all thought of planning for the future in favour of the welcome duty of learning his wife's body in the present.

* * *

 **[II] - Should He Stay or Should He Go Now?**

* * *

There had been a short, tense silence after Saitō and Chizuru had left. Fortunately, two things had happened that cut matters shorter than might otherwise have been the case: first, Kichirō had asked politely, but firmly, for somebody to explain to him _properly_ who Sakurai-sama was and where he had come from; and second, Sen had fallen into a deep and entirely unfeigned faint half-way through trying to give Kichirō some kind of answer.

Chiharu had not bothered to either hush or answer her brother. Instead she had been quietly watching the Shinsengumi—Hijikata-san in particular—and Amagiri debate the matter of Amagiri's departure. What impressed her about the debate was how little they spoke. To her credit, the way she reconstructed the argument, based on close observation of one older and two younger brothers over many years, was reasonably accurate.

 _Amagiri:_ [Eyes down; lips tight; jaws set] _I'm going now because every moment I waste is a moment that Kazama-sama will hold against me. You know that he will be very angry. I would prefer to do what I can to avoid the worst._

 _Hijikata:_ [Eyes narrowed, aimed directly at Amagiri with laser-like intensity; lips tight; jaws set] _You're an idiot._ _You're exhausted; you've spent close to five days awake and used up a lot of whatever you Oni call magic power, and you need to sleep. Now you're going to expend more power—that you might not even have—and arrive in front of a temperamental and violent lord with very bad news. Even four hours rest would make a big difference to your ability to handle things properly. Don't make Harada and I take you on. It'll be embarrassing for everyone._

 _Harada:_ [Possibly wondering whether he could just go home now, since the wedding is over and he wasn't likely to get another chance to flirt with Osen-chan] _Just let me know what you need, Hijikata-san._

Just as it was beginning to look to Chiharu that Amagiri was seriously contemplating taking on the two Shinsengumi, Sen had given a brief cry and collapsed. Kimigiku and Chiharu had immediately looked the girl over, but had been unable to find anything wrong, which made them immediately suspect Suzuka-gozen. Eventually, Kimigiku (carrying Sen), Chiharu and Kichirō had all gone up to their rooms. Kichirō had made a point of politely asking Hijikata-san whether he might pay a call on him the next day. He'd gotten a thoughtful look, but no answer.

The three remaining guests had then broken their near-silence to debate the main point out loud. Hijikata had opened with a rather strange proposal, however:

"Just give it an hour. Less than an hour if I've read things right—though the gods only know, with Saitō. He may decide that a short lesson on the history of swords is a fine way to woo a virgin bride."

Harada stared at him. "Vice Commander?" he asked uncertainly.

"An hour is too much," Amagiri protested. "I need to leave now. Explain quickly if you can."

Given the absence of any potentially innocent ears, Hijikata decided to be blunt.

"Every time—that I'm aware of—that Saitō and Yukimura have been physically involved with each other the general recovery of those around them—whether it's a matter of injuries or exhaustion—has been too good to be true. It's bizarre but I'm sure I'm correct. I'm betting they'll exchange more than lover's kisses tonight, what do you think?"

"Heh – yes, definitely," agreed Harada. It was hard _not_ to remember how they had looked at each other.

"Mmm." Amagiri's eyes were hooded.

"You don't want to fight us, Amagiri-san," said Harada persuasively. "And I know that I don't want to fight you. Give it an hour. Probably less."

The tall Oni shifted restlessly, which was unusual for him.

"As you wish," he said at last. "I will remain either one hour or until there is some kind of mystical improvement to my health."

"Good." Hijikata immediately turned to Harada. "We'll let Amagiri-san rest, or meditate or whatever. _We_ have to decide what to tell Kondō-san."

"Huh. Yeah."

Hijikata led Harada over to the other side of the room, as Amagiri returned to his meditations.

"I don't normally do this," Hijikata said to Harada in a low voice. "But I think… we're going to have to lie."

Harada nodded. "And you know I'm the worst liar in Kyoto. So, what's the pitch?"

"Do you think Sen-hime would mind being portrayed as a somewhat tyrannical and spoiled young noblewoman?"

The Tenth Division Captain laughed. "No, I'm sure she wouldn't. In fact, I'm sure she'll be happy to help."

* * *

 **[III] - Always a Watcher**

* * *

Not very far from Kyoto, in a small but nicely-appointed villa, a very beautiful woman with golden-amber eyes sat watching what should no doubt have been a very private moment for two young lovers. Had she felt any need to explain herself, which she didn't, the Lady Suzuka would have pointed out that she had only one point to verify, and no interest at all in the mechanics of an act with which she had been familiar for centuries. Although - she almost certainly would have added - in this case the principals were at least reasonably attractive, especially the young Sakurai. Frankly, she was pleased that he was living up to her expectations.

Some time passed, and then a satisfied smile illuminated the nearly-perfect features.

"Exactly as hoped. Well done. Hmm... It is _good_ to finally see everything working out. But now..."

Waving one shapely hand through the air, she dismissed the farseeing magic that she had been using and crossed over to a low wooden bed. A western contraption, but comfortable enough.

A moment later, her eyes closed, her breathing slowed to almost nothing, body went quite still.

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/Note:** And now that they are duly wedded and bedded, as the old saying used to go, we can get on with other things... Poor Amagiri.


	2. A Formal Visit

**Author's Note:**

Hello and welcome back! _This chapter got away from me, and honestly, it could have been even longer._

As I warned in my last A/Note, there is a certain amount of Chizuru and Saito fluff because I felt like writing it. In a couple of places it verged too close to smut, so I will be adding the **complete chapter to the M-rated version of the story** and the **slightly edited version to the regular T-rated version**.

This chapter manages to at least mention almost everyone. Some days are just like that.

Also, poor Yama-chan (thank you, Souji!).

Thank you to everyone who is reading and enjoying this story. I truly appreciate seeing people from all over the world stop by to check out what the Shinsengumi and the Oni are up to _this time_.

In particular, thank you for your reviews to:

 **Shell1331** (for amazing support here and on tumblr - recently posted her first story!), **DancesWithSeatbelts** ( _nalufever_ on tumblr - an excellent writer for the FT fandom)

 **14Phantom** (who has the best hashtags! glad you like the Oni politics, so important), **Scintilla of Myself** (thank you for appreciating the need to make the punishment _real_ )

 **Guest** (thank you for mentioning my long author's note, your own discussion about Kazama was excellent), **nakigaoyuu** (thank you for _always_ appreciating my happy duo :)

 **Sabina-san** (greatly enjoyed your Amagiri/Kazama comments  & well, have some fluff!), **NyaPowa** (great ideas for Saito's new "left-hand man", hehehe)

 **Anon** (for excellent insight as always and for appreciating CCR, heh), **Eliz1369** (I know, we need to look after Amagiri, and Souji, and Chikage...)

A special thank you to **Blaze1662001** \- I'm always so happy when somebody takes the time to give this story a try! Welcome!

~ImpracticalOni

 **\\(^u^)/**

* * *

 **Chapter 64 – A Formal Visit**

* * *

 **[I] - Time Together**

* * *

Saitō found his wife hovering just down the hallway from Amagiri's room. He felt heat rise in his cheeks, as natural reserve and years of self-control won by the slimmest margin over duty. He immediately saw the sense in Amagiri's request that he not to attempt to work with Chizuru on the delicate task of cleaning and disinfecting the various lacerations, but it was mortifying. It almost seemed worse right now than before.

"Please fetch Kimigiku-san now," he said curtly.

Chizuru, who had brightened as soon as she had seen him, looked a little startled—and maybe hurt—by his sharp tone, but it was the best he could manage. She hesitated, and then nodded and hurried off to … somewhere. Wherever. Saitō pressed a hand to his head. Now he just had to go back to their rooms without running into Harada. He was a respected comrade, but Saitō was feeling that stretched-thin sensation again, as though maybe he had done too much, too quickly. He needed to rest, but he wasn't thinking about resting. He hoped that Chizuru wouldn't be absent too long.

 _Idiot_ , he told himself severely. _It will take as long as it takes._ He wished that he could just go away until the chaos in his head and body subsided. He suspected that passing all of the Trials within a few days and then immediately getting married—with all that seemed to entail for an Oni—was not really a good idea.

It didn't hit him until he reached the door to their temporary quarters—he hadn't brought the sword. Amagiri Hideaki's sword still lay unsheathed in Amagiri's—Kyūju-san's—room. He stood in the elegantly-appointed reception chamber for some minutes, utterly unable to decide what to do. Fortunately, the solitude helped, and the wind and rain outside seemed quite pleasant as a background to his thoughts. The sword would keep; it was unlikely that anything would happen to it and then he could enjoy inspecting it later. Besides, he needed to clean his katana, and then wipe down both of his swords after being in the rain…

Feeling more himself than he had in hours, Saitō washed, dressed with more care than he had earlier, and sat down to methodically and meticulously look after his weapons. By this time, he was unsurprised to find everything he needed for the task placed where it could be easily found, in the small chest beside the stand for swords.

He had just finished cleaning and oiling his katana, and was inspecting his wakizashi, when he sensed Chizuru outside in the hallway. She entered a moment later, and looked at him a little uncertainly, her eyes first on his face and then on the swords. His conscience reminded him that he had been very abrupt with her earlier—not at all as he should have been the day after their wedding, especially when he had been gone almost all morning. He rose quickly, setting both swords on the stand.

"Chizuru—" he began, taking her hands.

To his surprise, she leaned her head against his chest and he realized as she did that there were tears in her eyes. How could he have missed her distress? Obviously he must have deliberately shut himself away or… or something like that. Or maybe she had been keeping her unhappiness to herself? But what had upset her?

Awkwardly, he put his arms around her, holding her against his chest. He could feel the slight tremors as she cried—no, that wasn't it, she was trying not to cry. He felt ridiculously unprepared for this role. But that was no excuse, especially when he considered what they had already shared the night before. Strangely, the half-expected blush didn't come; instead he pressed a kiss against his wife's soft, dark hair. _My wife_. For her he could risk being embarrassed.

"Dear one, please tell me what is wrong. Look at me."

Obediently, if a little slowly, Chizuru looked up at him. A few tears had obviously escaped despite her best efforts.

"Amagiri-san… it's terrible, Sai—Hajime. I'm sorry!" Her large brown eyes widened anxiously.

Saitō frowned slightly, which probably didn't help matters, but he persevered. "I do not want you to be afraid of me, Chizuru. Are you?"

"Oh no—no, nothing like that! I just—" she bit her lower lip. "I just want to make you happy, and I still sometimes forget."

"You will do your best, and soon it will not be a problem," Saitō said calmly. It was not Chizuru's fault that he had a… weakness for hearing her say his first name. But it was strange how a conversation could slip away like this. He tried again. "You were shocked when you saw Amagiri's wounds, which is understandable. You are a very kind person. Please tell me, how is his arm?"

Chizuru immediately had to blink away quick tears again and Saitō tentatively touched her cheek. Then he realized that he had no idea what to say, so he used a knuckle to carefully dry what he could and waited. She seemed to somehow lean into his touch, and despite everything, he felt his heart-beat accelerate—although having her so close was already slightly arousing. Since he couldn't seem to help that, it simply had to be accepted for now.

"Amagiri-san's arm is going to be… difficult to heal properly," Chizuru said at last. "The upper part of the arm is fine, but the forearm is, ah, badly cut with—well whatever that terrible sword was. Silver and something else, Kimigiku-san says. A way to use Soul magic as a binding curse. It will take a patient doctor some time to put the bones and bone fragments more or less into place—and it's a problem because the part of the break furthest from the cuts is healing itself faster than the damage nearer the surface."

Saitō felt the icy rage returning. He was revolted that a good man's ability to fight might have been destroyed as though he were a criminal. Of course, that was Kazama's point: a warrior's first and greatest duty was to his lord; Kazama believed sincerely that Amagiri had foresworn that duty. The Code of the Shinsengumi was no different; the penalty for any significant breach of duty was death by _seppuku_ —honourable suicide. It made Saitō wonder why he was so angry: the strategist in him said that Kazama had done nothing wrong—Amagiri had to be killed or severely disabled so that the enemy did not gain a potential ally; the officer in him said that absolute discipline had to be enforced, sometimes harshly. And yet he quelled his outrage only with effort.

"Hajime?" Chizuru inquired, dragging him once again from unprofitable speculation.

" _Gomenasai_ , Chizuru. Tell me if you think we can do anything about the missing hand."

She gave him a doubtful look, since she could easily sense that his mood was strangely volatile—well, volatile for Saitō-san. Despite everything, though, she was immensely relieved that they were together. The three or four hours apart had felt _wrong_ and she had been very uneasy. She had missed him for other reasons too, but those thoughts made her feel slightly ashamed. She focussed on the question in order to distract herself from various unexpected feelings and half-understood anxieties.

"I'm not sure, Hajime. I think that if I can gain greater control over my Gifts, then I may be able to counteract the effects of destructive force preventing natural regeneration. Even now, without passing my Trial of Mind, I believe that I will be able to accomplish some significant repair. It's just that… well, I have nobody to train me. I will have to figure it out."

Oddly, Chizuru was smiling now, and Saitō found himself losing the thread of the conversation, as important as it was. That sweet, shy, determined face was captivating. He realized that Amagiri was right: it didn't matter much whether it was driven in whole or in part by some kind of racial need to choose a mate and produce children, or by some concept of romantic love, he was entirely hers. And according to Amagiri's theory, Saitō and Chizuru's deep bond made them stronger by virtue of having passed a fourth Trial.

At this point he discovered that he was running his hand along the soft curve between chizuru's waist and hips, which was not appropriate for trying to discuss a—a relative's—grievous injuries. He stopped, with a slight effort. Chizuru was blushing, but she also seemed to be snuggling tightly against him.

"I suppose that we should probably eat?" Saitō asked, trying to be practical. He wasn't feeling very practical.

Chizuru couldn't meet his eyes. "Um, well, Osen-chan told me that she was going tell Kondō-san that she had loaned us a suitable retreat for our, um, _wedding night celebrations_. And she mentioned that she would ensure that nobody came to disturb us any further for the rest of the day—except to leave the occasional tray of food outside the doors to these quarters."

Saitō reddened. "But—the Commander? We should greet him—shouldn't we?"

Chizuru was reduced to murmuring into his kimono: "Sen-hime said that she could manage perfectly well without us and that we weren't of any use right now anyway—um, except for, um..."

Even Oni hearing couldn't make out the rest of it, but the bright red tops of Chizuru's ears more or less said it all. For a moment, Saitō wavered between deeply embarrassed indignation and outraged amusement (an expression that Harada had once applied to Hijikata-san). Then all at once he knew that this was not an opportunity to be squandered. To Chizuru's immense surprise, he picked her up, cradling her against his chest and pausing only to kiss her soft mouth before moving quickly toward their bedroom. The kiss had been intended lightly, but deepened into something intensely passionate almost at once. The blood pounded in his ears and his heart raced. Just for once… to stop thinking…

Somewhere between being clothed and unclothed they shifted form. In a kind of almost innocent abandon, they touched and traced each other's horns with curious hands and trembling, barely contained desire, every sense on edge and minds and bodies wound together. They traded gentle and not-so-gentle bites, golden eyes widening in shocked, unexpected delight as sharp fangs pierced pale skin and then rough tongues licked the small punctures clean and moved on to other things.

Their lovemaking was partly play and partly exploration, and wholly joyous. Chizuru revelled in the chance to be an equal and admired partner, trusted at the most intimate level to give and receive pleasure without fear of being either judged or patronized; for Saitō, who rarely indulged in either uncontrolled sentiment or uncontrolled physical sensation, it was a nearly overwhelming moment of freedom from responsibility for anyone other than himself and his lover.

"I don't think I've ever heard you laugh," Chizuru said at some point later on, curled tightly against Saitō's body.

"Hmm."

They were both in human form again and definitely drowsy. The rain still lashed against the shutters. Presumably, somewhere else in the house, the Commander of the Shinsengumi had arrived or would be arriving. None of that seemed to matter very much just then.

* * *

 **[II] - Trouble On The Way**

* * *

Naturally, Sōji accompanied Kondō-san on his visit to the mysterious Sen-hime, Chizuru-chan's cousin and benefactress. Shinpachi and Heisuke were waiting for them by the gate. The Commander looked at them with a slight grin.

"Who is leading the patrols this afternoon, then? Or are you all looking for a way out of the rain and into the house of the Lady Osen?"

Shinpachi, who was supposed to be out with Inoue-san that afternoon, cleared his throat and glanced at Sōji. As the four men started off toward Sen-hime's home, Souji gave Kondō-san his trade-mark smile.

"Well, Kondō-san, you've been telling me how much Takeda has impressed you, so he will be leading a joint group of my and Shinpachi-san's men this afternoon. We still haven't quite returned to normal shifts, although our men are healing quickly. Inoue-san is leading the other patrol."

"Hmm, yes, Takeda-kun will be fine, I'm sure. Toshi did say that things are still unsettled, though."

The talk turned general for a few minutes, although Heisuke remained unusually silent. Unlike the other three, he seemed more serious and less excited about the visit. Shinpachi, who was not oblivious to his younger friend's preoccupation, let Sōji and the Commander move ahead of them slightly and poked Heisuke's shoulder.

"Oi, what's wrong?"

Heisuke shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"It just seems wrong somehow. Even though I'm starting to understand a little better. These _Oni_ … I mean, hell, I know I'm not Sōji, but I didn't have any trouble at the Ikedaya until I ran into that one guy. And then he _catches_ my sword—and not like it's a problem for him either. He broke my head without breaking a sweat, you know?"

Shinpachi eyed him thoughtfully.

"You're not planning to attack him in Osen-sama's house, are you? Because I'm pretty sure that wouldn't go down well."

"Especially for me? Yeah, I get it. And… now that I'm feeling better and I've had time to think, I'm not so mad exactly. Just, well, it's hard not to wonder if it's connected somehow. To _them_."

This time, the bigger man nodded in clear agreement. _Them_ was always the Furies. The damned remnants of the men who drank the _ochimizu_. They gained strength and speed and incredible healing, but their minds broke quickly, although it seemed to affect some more than others—or at least more quickly. Nobody volunteered anymore. Instead, they tested the so-called Water of Life on captured ronin and those members of the Shinsengumi who broke the Code. In the time of Commander Serizawa, who had co-led the Shinsengumi with Kondō-san, it had been decided that those condemned to commit _seppuku_ would be given the option to take the _ochimizui_ instead. Shinpachi knew that he would cut himself open in a second rather than take that hellish brew. But many people would rather take a chance at life over certain death.

So he nodded understandingly at Heisuke, and even forbore to ruffle his long, rather messy hair, contenting himself with another sympathetic "tap" on the shoulder. Heisuke protested for form's sake, but seemed to relax slightly and regain a little of his usual bounce.

Ahead of them, Kondō-san and Sōji had stopped talking about the military situation in Kyoto. Shinpachi moved a little closer when he heard Kondō-san laugh.

"I never would have thought Saitō-kun would run off and get married, Sōji! Honestly, I thought the girl preferred Toshi, or Harada-kun. But who can understand women, eh? Even young ones! Besides, don't think that I never saw you hovering around her as well, Sōji."

The young, green-eyed warrior looked struck dumb for a moment. Shinpachi would have laughed at seeing such a look on _Sōji_ 's face, but he didn't want to interrupt such an interesting conversation. For once, Heisuke didn't go rushing in either. The truth was that Kondō-san noticed things when it came to the First Division Captain, having known him and in many ways raised him since he was nine.

"I— _no_ , Kondō-san! Why would I be interested in such a little thing anyway? But since you wouldn't let me—sorry, sorry…" Sōji grimaced when he found himself the target of three disapproving stares. He'd been told before not to talk so casually about killing people when they were around the citizens of Kyoto. Or anywhere else, in fact. He shot a glare at Shinpachi, but just hunched a shoulder when he turned back to Kondō-san. "Anyway, I just found it interesting how things always happened around her, you know? I mean, Saitō, _gardening_? Even Hijikata-san wrote to his sister asking whether she might have something special for Chizuru-chan's little garden. Not to mention Sano-san, though he's got a soft spot for girls anyway."

The more he talked, the more Heisuke nodded and the more Shinpachi smirked and thought Kondō-san was right. He was unprepared when Sōji rounded on him with a growl, fists clenched.

"Whoa—Sōji, cool it!"

For a moment it seemed as if Sōji might snap, but a moment later he just shook his head before turning and stalking off a little ways ahead of the other three. Kondō-san glanced at Shinpachi.

"Everyone seems a little on edge, don't you think, Nagakura-kun?" he said mildly to the burly warrior.

Shinpachi agreed. "It has been more than a little weird, Kondō-san. Anyway, I'm surprised not to see Sano with us—he's gotten pretty friendly with these Oni, you know."

Kondō-san, who was almost as romantic as his officers thought him to be smiled.

"Well, pretty young women are bound to be interesting—isn't that why you're coming, Nagakura-kun?"

Shinpachi reddened a little. "More that I'm curious as hell about this marriage of Saitō's, Commander. But, uh, Sen-hime—as she called herself—did have a good-looking woman with her who claimed to be some kind of bodyguard."

"A woman?" asked Kondō, perplexed. "I'd heard there was a second woman but I assumed she was some kind of maid. A girl like that would hardly visit the Shinsengumi compound without one."

Shinpachi thought about it. The details of that whole night were oddly fuzzy, but he was fairly certain that Sen-hime had _not_ been timid and that Kimigiku-san had looked and moved as if she knew her business. However, the Commander would see for himself soon enough.

The Commander of the Shinsengumi was hardly unknown in Kyoto, especially in the part patrolled by his men, in their readily identifiable blue and white coats. Moreover, all four men moved with the purposeful, almost aggressive stride that suggested that they knew how to use the paired swords that they carried. Sōji and Shinpachi, the First and Second Division Captains, were especially impressive—and unnerving—but Kondō-san was known as a fierce warrior despite his usually amiable countenance. Also, after a year-and-a-half in residence in Kyoto, Heisuke was well-known as a bruising fighter with fists, feet and whatever else came handy, despite looking closer to fifteen than his actual nineteen years. His swordsmanship was also impressive, which wasn't surprising after long hours of training with the likes of Sōji, Shinpachi and Saitō. Like Saitō, he was much stronger and tougher than he looked—otherwise he wouldn't have survived Amagiri's strike.

Thus, despite the inclement weather, many people watched and speculated as the Commander of the Shinsengumi and three of his captains moved swiftly through the city. Was there going to be another raid? What did they know and where were they going?

They were still within the busier part of the city when the accident happened. A man stumbled out of a shop, apparently drunk and waving a knife. Without hesitation, Sōji stepped in to disarm him, but he seemed to catch his foot on something and stumbled, which was so unlike him that Shinpachi immediately looked for somebody who might have tripped him (which was also highly unlikely). Heisuke had gone after Sōji, and found himself directly in front of the knife-man, who staggered and somehow managed to shove Sōji away from him, so that the First Division Captain caught the edge of a display table and tipped it onto the street.

Meanwhile, Kondō-san stood with his arms folded, his lips compressed into a narrow line as Heisuke easily blocked the unlikely agent of destruction and tried to take his knife from him. Not surprisingly, the locals were shouting by this point, and a number of the comments were less than complimentary, especially when Heisuke missed his target and his momentum sent him crashing into a gaily painted sign-board. Shinpachi stepped in and landed a smashing blow on their opponent's jaw, and the man dropped instantly, out cold. But the damage had been done, quite literally in the case of the broken wares and ruined sign.

Sōji seemed to be staring around them, eyes narrowed.

"Somebody's playing tricks," he snarled, ignoring the bits and pieces at his feet. No proprietor had yet come out to complain, and Shinpachi couldn't blame them.

Shortly after that, a few things happened at once. For one, Takeda's unit came hurrying down the street toward them, no doubt drawn by the noise. For another, Sōji suddenly took off at a sprint and Heisuke ran after him—though it wasn't clear whether he actually knew where the First Division Captain was going. Shinpachi thought not, but he stood his ground resignedly, unwilling to leave Kondō-san on his own. From his green bandanna to his sleeveless jacket, Shinpachi tended to give the impression of being a rather unintelligent, muscle-bound warrior. Alternately, when he was out for drinks—and sometimes other things—in the red light district of Shimabara, he could appear to be an oafish, if reasonably friendly, young pleasure-seeker. At the moment, there was no mistaking the glare in the cold, sky blue eyes, or the levelled sword that caused the inquisitive to back-away as quickly as they arrived. Both Kondō-san and Shinpachi ignored the rain, which was starting to pick up again.

"Commander! How may I assist you?" It was Takeda of course, thought Shinpachi, eyeing the man with the dislike of the powerful warrior for the toady. "You shouldn't be standing here in the rain, Commander! Allow me to escort you over under the canopy!"

"Take this man into custody," snapped Kondō, for once impervious to Takeda's deference.

The vice-captain blinked, glanced at the prone man, and then back to Kondō. _I'll make him regret ignoring me_ , though Shinpachi irritably. _He could at least_ pretend _to work with the rest of us for crying out loud._

"Um, Commander?" For once, the handsome man sounded uncertain. "This man appears to be dead."

Kondō-san and Shinpachi's eyes snapped to their strange attacker. Shinpachi frowned. He could have sworn that he hadn't killed the man, but there was blood still trickling from the man's nose and lips that suggested that he had suffered grievous internal damage—or damage inside his skull. The trickle stopped almost at once, indicating that the heart had most likely stopped pumping.

"Clean up this mess, Takeda," ordered Shinpachi. "Get the body out of the way and covered and go talk to the owner of this shop—assuming this isn't him. Sort things out. The Commander and I must go; we're late for an important appointment."

Takeda gave him a flickering look of dislike, but bowed. " _Hai_ , Nagakura-taichō. Excuse me, Commander." He waited for a moment longer, obviously hoping that Kondō-san would speak to him, but the Shinsengumi's leader just nodded in dismissal and walked off with Shinpachi, who had resheathed his sword.

"I wonder where Sōji and Heisuke-kun went off to?" Kondō commented, evidently a little put out.

"I'm not sure Commander." Shinpachi hesitated. He wasn't sure Kondō-san needed more weirdness right now. Still, it was his job to let his superior officer know what was going on. "The thing is, there have been reports of a spy who may have the ability to tamper with people's thoughts and—I guess—actions. Yamazaki's been after him, and so has Sōji. If Sōji figured that the spy was behind that little comedy act back there, he probably went looking for him."

"That makes sense," Kondō said, much to Shinpachi's surprise. The older man's expression became a little amused. "I had to listen to Sōji a fair bit this morning, you know. He's definitely touchier than usual and he seems to be torn between admiration and disgust with these so-called Oni."

Shinpachi nodded in agreement. "That sounds about right, Kondō-san. The thing is… I never saw them the way Saitō describes them, but I _have_ seen the big one who punched Heisuke in normal, human shape and you could pretty much _feel_ the power coming off of him."

"And you've met Osen-sama?" asked Kondō, interested.

"Yes, briefly. She's not very big—looks a little like Chizuru-chan actually, though her hair's lighter and her eyes are, um pink. But I suspect she's not as soft and young as she appears. Just an impression." Shinpachi had been automatically scanning his surroundings as they walked, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Harada approaching quickly from a nearby street.

"This way!" Harada called, waving.

"He's lucky he found us!" Kondō exclaimed. "We could have missed each other completely with all these streets and people."

Shinpachi scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, Kondō-san. Harada's gotten awfully good at being able to just kind of _feel_ when somebody's around. Well, I mean we all do it, at least a little, but he's pretty much infallible now. Plus, who knows what kinds of tricks an Oni Princess has up her sleeve."

"Hmm," replied Kondō, his expression less open than usual. "It's just as well, anyway. Let's go."

Obediently, Shinpachi followed Kondō-san over to Sano. His friend seemed in good spirits, presumably because he'd been allowed to spend his time visiting with two pretty women, thought Shinpachi sourly.

"Commander! I was told to come fetch you. Also, to say that Sen-hime is looking forward to your visit and has refreshments and dry clothes waiting for you."

"What, you're her butler now?" demanded Shinpachi in revolted tones.

Kondō-san's mood seemed to improve to match Sano's. He laughed a little.

"I think that Osen-sama—Sen-hime—must be one of those women who are good at making men run their errands, eh Harada-kun?"

"You could be right there, Kondō-san!" responded Harada, grinning.

Rolling his eyes, Shinpachi stamped through the rain after them. It was going to be an interesting, but probably annoying, afternoon.

* * *

 **[III] - Princess and Shinobi**

* * *

Sen had dressed carefully for the afternoon's meeting and was presently standing by the large window in the reception room, staring out at the rain. She was feeling a little tired, which was very unusual but not surprising after last night's rituals. At the moment, the mantle of the Princess of the Oni seemed very heavy. On the one hand, rescuing one of the Lost Clans from extinction was an incredible achievement, and with the part of her that had inherited the care of the Oni as a race, she was deeply satisfied. On the other hand, the price had been very high. Not just Amagiri but Kazama had been broken, and the outcome was still in jeopardy. Sen might not like Kazama Chikage very much, but he was an immensely powerful Oni and a leader who truly cared about his clan. Others might not see it, but Sen knew that in being forced—in his mind—to cast off and maim his one constant companion, her cousin had been grievously wounded in mind and spirit.

At the moment, Amagiri was asleep, his formidable defences surprisingly relaxed. It was a curious thing—extraordinary, really—but he showed no symptoms of the deep distress she would have expected him to feel over the loss of his hand, and even more over the loss of his honour and clan. She wondered a little if the Trial of Body, undertaken at great personal risk, had perhaps forged a bond between the red-haired Oni and the rather extraordinary Saitō Hajime. Personally, she found the man rather too cold and watchful, but she had found Amagiri equally humourless in the past. Amagiri had not hesitated to come to her aid, however, and she suspected that Saitō-san would be the same. Most likely, it was a question of time and trust, and Saitō-san was not one to trust others easily.

"I believe that we are ready, Sen-hime," said Kimigiku quietly, from behind her. The shinobi was wearing the deep purple kimono that she preferred when acting as the princess' housekeeper and companion at the Kyoto residence. Not only did it give her an aura of respectability, but it was very different from what she wore when serving sake at the establishment that they owned in Shimabara.

"Thank you, Kimigiku. I expect that Harada-san will bring our guests back with him shortly. Are we still in agreement regarding Chizuru-chan?"

The shinobi sighed.

"She should be here, Princess. She may already be with child, and she is very young."

"It must be her choice, Kimigiku. And Saitō-san's. I suspect that he feels as torn on the subject as we do."

"That is not so," Kimigiku said flatly. "Saitō-san will wish her here. He would not hesitate to put her safety over his own pleasure."

Sen frowned. "Not over his own pleasure, no, but she will choose to be with him. And from everything I've been taught, it's actually uncomfortable to be apart from a mate for very long. It will be trying for them. My decision remains the same: we will offer our hospitality, but they make a free choice."

Kimigiku smiled a little. "I will respect your decision, Sen-hime. You asked if we were in agreement, which is different."

"I am not mistaken about Harada-san either."

The shinobi looked down. Then she met her princess' challenging gaze again.

"As long as he is loyal to you, I will not need to kill him."

"I think you show surprisingly low faith in my charms and beauty, Kimigiku," Sen replied with a laugh. "And he is a good man. Tell me: what do you think of Saitō-san?"

Kimigiku frowned. "He is an Oni now. It will change him in some ways. Aside from that, my views haven't changed very much: he is still a ruthless killer, loyal almost to a fault, and in many ways too old for such a young man. However, he is overcoming his own prejudices and repressed emotions extremely quickly and with far less drama than I would have expected. Mostly, he is extremely pragmatic. He has been fortunate, first in finding Hijikata-san, and then in having Amagiri come to his rescue. In both cases, he found powerful allies and mentors who valued him."

Sen was a little surprised. "You've given a great deal of thought to this, it appears."

"I have watched the Shinsengumi since they arrived in Kyoto as the Roshigumi. In Saitō-san's case, he is the chosen mate of the second-most important woman in our family. Moreover, we both like Chizuru-sama very much."

"She is adorable."

The shinobi laughed. "I never disagreed with that! But I refuse to call Saitō-san adorable. He's dangerous. However, he adores Chizuru-sama and that is sufficient."

She had lost her mistress' attention and sighed.

"Princess? I take it that Harada-san has arrived?"

Sen looked blankly at her, and then laughed. "Well… yes. He and the Commander and a man I think is Nagakura-san will be here shortly. You have enough time to fetch Hijikata-san and then open the door."

Kimigiku bowed gracefully and left on her appointed errand.

* * *

 **IV - The Vice Commander**

* * *

"You work hard, Kichirō-kun," Hijikata told the boy, watching him run through another set of drills.

"Yes, Hijikata-san. Although I prefer to spar," Kichirō added slyly, looking hopefully at the older man.

"I already told you, I'm not going to show up for the Commander's meeting with Sen-hime looking either rumpled or sweaty. _Baka_!"

Kichirō felt inordinately pleased to be called an idiot by Hijikata-san. His older brother wasn't the sort—well, not in the same way—and Amagiri wouldn't, and wasn't really a swordsman anyway, although Onee-sama had once mentioned that it was a matter of preference, not inability. He hadn't seen Amagiri since the night before, and he knew that something was going on. However, since nobody would _tell_ him anything, he had gone off to the dojo to relieve his stress and mood. Swinging a sword always calmed him.

"Then maybe later, Hijikata-san?" he said hopefully.

"No, I don't have time. But I'll tell you what, since Saitō seems to be otherwise occupied, if I get the chance I'll introduce you to Nagakura-san. If you really want to learn good form—true mastery—then he'll probably oblige you. I must tell you, though, that given your full strength and speed, you'll learn the most, and be the most challenged, with Saitō."

Kichirō looked away and tried not to show his opinion of that idea. Hijikata tried to pretend that he didn't understand the problem, but his natural impatience with that sort of thing quickly won over being polite to a fifteen-year-old boy.

"It's up to you, of course, and it's awkward that Saitō married the girl that your brother wanted, but you're going to have to get your head around the idea that Saitō is not some kind of aggressive bully—or whatever it is that has you so skittish. Look—how would you feel?"

Kichirō looked a little sullen, but he was listening, so Hijikata continued.

"He'd just completed his Trial of Mind—and presumably you've heard more stories about that than I have, but what I saw didn't look like fun. He was about to be married. He wasn't quite himself—that I know for sure, since I was there—and he'd finally gotten two minutes alone with his girl. And then you come waltzing along looking like somebody who hurt one of his closest friends. Honestly, it doesn't take a genius to understand what happened."

The boy was wavering, but Hijikata could tell that he didn't want to give up his grievance yet.

"Fine, you tell me how your older brother would have reacted in a similar situation."

That drew a reluctant smile from Kazama's look-alike sibling. "He'd knock me into next week, or worse. Worse, I guess, if I looked like a possible enemy."

"Well, you'd better think about that. What did Harada say to you?"

"He told me to get over it. Also, that Sa-Saitō-sama is not a violent man, usually."

"Well, he isn't. He tends toward meditation as a pastime, not fighting."

"Like Amagiri-san?"

"If you say so. From _my_ perspective, Amagiri-san put his fist through the forehead of one of my men and nearly killed him."

Kichirō digested this in silence, and then asked:

"Your man, he didn't die?"

"No. The boy's got a thick head—in more ways than one. You would probably get along with Heisuke. Whether Kyoto would be standing by the end of it is a different question."

Kichirō laughed, good mood restored.

"I wish I could meet them: Nagakura-san and Heisuke-san, I mean."

"I'd say that's up to your sister, wouldn't you?"

Both men (to use the term rather loosely) turned to look at the third person in the room. Chiharu-sama had accompanied Hijikata to the room that was used as a dojo, saying that she wanted to talk to her brother once he was done his regular routine. She looked very lovely this afternoon, with her fair hair neatly pinned up and her clothing obviously arranged with more care than the night before. Hijikata knew enough of women's matters—mostly, though not exclusively from his sister—to recognize armour when he saw it. He had a feeling that, unlike her brother, she had been told about the breach between Amagiri-san and her older brother. If so, her outward calm was impressive, but she seemed far more remote than she had the night before.

Chiharu-sama was kneeling quietly near the door, apparently in meditation, but she looked up when she felt Hijikata and Kichirō look at her. Her dark violet eyes were serene, but Hijikata thought that the serenity was either assumed or carefully maintained.

"Are you finished, Kichirō? Osen-chan is expecting guests shortly, and we should discuss our plans."

Kichirō looked confused.

"But I thought we were supposed to help Osen-chan with something? And I want to see Kyoto before we leave. The rain may let up tomorrow."

"Well exactly," Chiharu said calmly. "We need to talk about all that. Osen-chan is a little tired today, but later on I may ask for her help to contact Mother."

Kichirō looked impressed, and definitely relieved that they weren't leaving immediately.

"Sure, I guess I'm done, Onee-san. Shall I go bathe and meet you up in your room? Or are you meeting Osen-chan's guests as well?"

"You go ahead, Kirō. I'm not meeting with Kondō-san and Hijikata-san, so I'll be up shortly."

Kichirō looked at her suspiciously as she rose and straightened the folds of her kimono.

"Kondō-san? The Commander of the Shinsengumi? Is that why Harada-san is still here? And Hijikata-san?"

"I don't know, Kichirō. I expect that they will be discussing the terms of the marriage contract, or something of that sort. Saitō-sama still has duties as a Captain of the Shinsemgumi."

"O-oh. Do you suppose that I could speak with Kondō-san?"

"No, you can't," intervened Hijikata at this point. "Off you go. I told you I'd speak to the Commander if you got permission from your family. This isn't the right time, which is what your sister is trying to tell you."

"But—" The boy suddenly quailed under the impact of two unsmiling purple stares. "Alright! I'm off, then. Fine!" Mindful of his almost-adult dignity, Kichirō did not quite stomp out of the room, but it was a near thing.

There was a moment of silence, and then Chiharu looked at Hijikata.

"He's not really as spoiled as it might seem," she said. "It's more that he knows there's something wrong and he's anxious. He may not be the first-born, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his fair share of the Oni Gifts. Not quite like Chikage-sama of course, but still…"

Hijikata studied her. He had the impression that she wanted to talk to him, but it wasn't clear about what.

"Is there usually a difference between the first and second-born?" he asked casually.

She hesitated, and then nodded.

"Usually, Hijikata-san. Not much, necessarily, but… well, what comes from any particular mating depends on the expectations going into it. Of course, people _hope_ for a girl-child, because a girl is likely to marry well and bring significant concessions to the family. On the other hand, in many families, like the Kazama, it is so traditional to have a man as the head of the clan that the expectations of the couple tend to mean that the first child is a boy."

"So belief has a lot to do with it," Hijikata said slowly. "And I suppose that could even inform the strength of the abilities of the child, then?"

"That is how I understand it," Chiharu said, a little stiffly. "Ah—this is not a usual conversation, you realize."

"Is it improper?" Hijikata asked, trying to keep amusement out of his voice.

Chiharu-sama looked undecided. "Maybe? Anything to do with children and mating is very personal, is it not?"

"Well, I'm curious, so you'll have to tell me if you don't want to answer."

The young woman gave him a "now what?" kind of look, but she seemed reluctant to head for the door, so he folded his arms and continued on:

"Humans don't generally refer to _mating_ , except in reference to animals. Are all intimate interactions between husband and wife for the purpose of producing children?"

This time she blushed, but he could also sense rising anger. He had offended her, and she correctly assumed that it was at least partly on purpose.

"Why are you deliberately trying to provoke me?" she asked coldly. "You could easily ask Amagiri that question, since you appear to be well-acquainted."

Hijikata ignored the first question completely.

"Why do you think Amagiri-san and I are well-acquainted?" he asked, a faint crease between his brows.

"Because he admitted you to his room, injured as he was, and that is unlike him."

"Fair enough, but how do you know that? I was, let's be honest, quite careful about it."

She gave him a contemptuous look, no doubt goaded by his (moderately successful) attempt to ruffle her earlier.

"We're _Oni_ , not humans. I sensed you as soon as you entered the house, since you have a particularly noticeable presence. You certainly don't have Saitō-sama's ability for concealment."

Hijikata laughed, possibly just to annoy her, but she couldn't tell. It suddenly dawned on her that he was drawing her out quite skillfully. And if she couldn't read his emotions easily now, then it meant that he was capable of shielding his thoughts, he just didn't do so automatically.

"No, but I'm willing to bet that Saitō's unusual even among the Oni for passing undetected. I just think he's been practising for a very long time. The bigger question for him is whether he can make himself noticed. Since I'm inclined to think yes, in light of recent events, he should be okay. And I refuse to be offended by your comment, since at least I know that my presence is _noticeable_ to you."

He waited for her to leave the room in a huff, since his tone was distinctly teasing, and lacked the deference to which she was no doubt used. To his surprise, she just seemed to consider him more closely. When she spoke, her voice was quite level.

"You really are trying to provoke me, or unsettle me, and I don't know why. You have pressed me for answers to questions that you know I find uncomfortable; are you now trying to flirt with me? At least, your last sentence is reminiscent of flirting. Your officer, Harada-san, does it better, but then he has considerable charm and that helps."

"Whereas I have only my good looks to recommend me?" Hijikata's eyebrows were raised in polite inquiry.

Her eyes widened, and he could see that she was still trying to sort out his motivations, although he thought he sensed hesitant amusement as well. It made him realize that as mature as she seemed—and probably was—she hadn't actually met very many people in her life in any normal kind of way. From that point of view, she had been raised as more of a princess than Sen-hime in terms of upbringing and experience. It made him wonder what had made her travel in haste across one hundred and fifty miles of forest and foothills to reach Kyoto.

"Why should I concede the good looks?" Chiharu asked him at that moment, in the same cool, flat tones. Her back was just as straight and uncompromising as before, but she had lowered her eyes a little, so that he couldn't see them clearly through her lashes.

"Well, then what about other advantages? I am more highly ranked and I earn more money. Also, my time is more flexible, since I'm the one who generally sets the patrol schedules."

Finally, she laughed a little. It was a pleasant sound, low and melodic.

"Alright, Hijikata-san. I will credit you with wit as well as beauty. Will that please you?"

"I'm not sure. I think it may take some time to get over the disappointment of being found to be less charming than Harada." Hijikata's tone shifted, becoming more serious. "But if you have a question for me, you will have to hurry."

"I know. I think it will have to wait, however. I did wonder, though… how is Amagiri?"

Hijikata suddenly understood part of her tension. Amagiri had been important to her—she had known him all her life, after all—and he had refused to let her enter.

"What have you been told?" he asked, not wanting to betray any confidences that hadn't been shared.

"I was told, by my cousin Osen-chan, that Chikage had been so angry to hear of Yukimura-sama's marriage that he had badly injured Amagiri and also ordered Amagiri's brother, Hideaki-kun, to attack Saitō-sama. Osen-chan wouldn't give me any details, which makes me think that Chikage has done something terrible. He does, you see, when he's badly hurt himself."

"Men do stupid things out of pride and hurt," Hijikata conceded.

"So I'm right. I will have to decide what to do. There is something that I need to do for Amagiri, but I owe a duty of loyalty to my brother as well."

Hijikata felt unexpected sympathy for the girl.

"You know that Kazama has done something wrong, but you have to support him anyway, because you're his sister and you're loyal."

"Who else is there? Hideaki-kun is Chikage's age and they more or less grew up together. He's no more fit to check Chikage than a dog his master." Chiharu frowned at her hands, which she held clasped at her waist. "But my errand cannot be so easily abandoned, and it can't wait, especially now."

Hijikata hesitated. It wasn't his business—or not obviously so. Finally, he gave in to personal inclination.

"Have you considered _not_ running to your brother's rescue?"

Chiharu-sama gave him a sharp look, and he had to concede that his phrasing hadn't been as tactful as it could have.

"What do you think I'm doing right now, Hijikata-san?" she said pointedly.

"Not running, I do see that."

Just then, they heard Kimigiku call out a polite " _shitsurei shimasu_ ", and the door slid open. Neither the Vice Commander nor Chiharu appreciated the momentary glimmer of a smile on the woman's face as she took in how closely they were standing together. Hijikata kicked himself mentally for being even remotely embarrassed. Kimigiku's opinions on what she knew nothing about shouldn't bother him.

"Is Kondō-san here?" he asked.

"He will be very shortly. Okita-san—the First Division Captain—is not with him, however."

Hijikata frowned. It was impossible to imagine that Sōji wouldn't have insisted on accompanying Kondō-san.

"I wonder what happened?" he muttered. "Who's with the Commander, then?"

"Nagakura-san, the Second Division Captain."

"I know what divisions my own officers belong in, for heaven's sake."

"Of course, Vice Commander." Kimigiku turned to Chiharu. "Is there anything that I can send up to you and Kichirō-kun, Haru-chan?"

"No, but thank you, Kimigiku. And I promise that we won't disappear while you're discussing Saitō-sama's marriage and future prospects… although I rather wish I could be there. It wouldn't be proper, of course, but I'd like to see Osen-chan explain her fears for her cousin's virtue to the Commander."

"She'll do it quite well, no doubt," Kimigiku said dryly, with a glance at Hijikata.

Hijikata shrugged. "Done is done. Although what possessed me to actually agree to it is another question."

Chiharu-sama smiled gently at him. "I think you were afraid for Saitō-sama's virtue if they were not wed at once."

"There is that," Hijikata said, with a chuckle.

The three of them parted company at the stairs. Chiharu-sama bowed politely to Hijikata, who returned the courtesy.

"I'll wait with you at the door, Kimigiku-san," Hijikata told the shinobi. "I'm a little concerned about Okita's absence." For just a moment, his eyes followed Kazama Chiharu's graceful form up the stairs, and then he went down the hallway to meet Kondō-san and Nagakura.

* * *

 **[V] - Ambush**

* * *

Sōji wasn't even remotely surprised when the ambush closed around him, although he was a little surprised that he hadn't noticed them waiting, especially when he'd expected something of the sort. He was more relieved than he'd admit when he realized that Heisuke was with him, and the two Shinsengumi captains took up defensive positions back-to-back without exchanging needless words.

When the rush came—there were eight of them, Sōji noted dispassionately—they were met with unwavering steel and the terrifying expressions of two men who were happier in a fight than out of one. In fact, if the attackers had only been driven by gold, it was likely that they would have turned and run, but their eyes and expressions spoke of drugs or maybe some other form of madness. The alleyway rang with the clash of steel and the cries of injured men.

Sōji was swift death, by turns luring in and striking out. Heisuke, who had been longing for a fight, was a twisting, slashing devil, lashing out with both sword and foot. Just as the attack went from an ambush to a rout, Sōji stumbled, just as he had outside the store. His speed prevented a lethal blow to the neck, but the remaining attackers threw themselves on him with total disregard for their lives, making it impossible for the First Division Captain to regain his feet.

Heisuke whirled to help Sōji, but was met by three more attackers, fresh and uninjured, who came running out of a nearby alley. Apparently they'd been stationed nearby and had only just arrived. Grim-faced, Heisuke, hacked his way through them. Sōji was holding his own, but some of the blood on the street was now his. When two more enemies appeared at the far end of the alley, Heisuke began to feel real concern.

Just then, there was a cry of frustration from up above them. Heisuke spared a glance up, keeping his sword-work steady. Silhouetted against the grey sky was a familiar black-clad shinobi struggling bare-handed against a smaller, heavily muffled figure. With frightening strength, the smaller figure suddenly lifted Yamazaki by the front of his shirt and flung him down into the fight. Desperate not to let the "spy" escape again, Yamazaki wrapped his arms around the smaller man and pulled him over the edge as well. Both men fell with a crunch into the two new attackers, but before Heisuke could disengage and strike at the enemy, the boy—because he looked younger even than the Eighth Division Captain—managed a gravity-defying leap and stood poised for a moment on a nearby roof. He managed an ironic bow and then disappeared.

" _Godsdammit!_ " screamed Sōji, emerging from his knot of enemies just in time to see the bow. "Why didn't you stop the fucker, ninja-boy!"

But Yamazaki wasn't moving. Heisuke checked that he was breathing and turned on Sōji, shouting into his face to bring him out of his fury.

"He saved your sorry ass, Sōji, so get a grip! The Sixth Division and Inoue-san aren't far. I'll bring them; you sit here and stab anyone who moves. If you can manage not to bleed too much, that would be good too. I don't want to have to carry you home, you're heavy."

Then Heisuke was off. In his urgency to get help for Yamazaki, he didn't even wonder how he'd known exactly where to find Inoue-san and his men.

Cursing, at himself and at his nemesis, Sōji glanced around, saw that the dead and dying were staying put, and sank down beside the injured shinobi. Sōji was bleeding from numerous shallow gashes and a couple of deeper ones, but he thought he'd be okay. Yamazaki would have been surprised to see how carefully the First Division Captain tried to find his injuries and shield him from the drizzling rain. But he was out cold, and Sōji could only hope for the best—and for Heisuke's quick return with the Sixth Division.

* * *

 **[VI] - The Princess and the Commander**

* * *

Kimigiku ushered Kondō-san and Harada-san into the reception room, leaving Hijikata-san quizzing Nagakura-san on the absence of the First Division Captain. The Commander was suitably impressed by the obvious beauty of the house and its furnishings and the proportions of the room drew admiration.

Sen was seated in her usual place at the low table, looking every inch a princess, in glittering gold ornaments and colourful silks. Harada, who hadn't seen her since she had gone to change, smiled involuntarily but felt suddenly shy. She didn't look like the Osen-chan with whom he had flirted and who he had most certainly kissed. On the other hand, the effect on Kondō-san was all that Sen and Kimigiku had hoped for.

After returning the Commander's deep and respectful bow with a slight bow of her own, Sen burst into rapid speech:

"But Commander! I see that you are a well-educated man, not the barbarian that I expected at _all_! How _could_ you allow my dear little cousin to become involved with one of your men?! Of course, all's well that ends well, but _really_ , only imagine if he not been well-born! The _shock_ when I saw them together! And of course, I thought that dear Chizuru-chan was still in Edo!" Sen paused, her face porcelain-perfect due to immaculate white face-paint and brilliant lips. "Well, actually, I thought she was dead." Sen turned to Kimigiku, who managed to preserve a wooden-faced dignity. "It was Mother's brother-in-law who was living in Edo, wasn't it Kimi-chan?"

Harada had prudently stationed himself behind Kondō-san, assuring his kind-hearted commanding officer that he would rather leave room for Hijikata-san and the others, since he'd had lunch with the ladies earlier. At Osen-chan's outrageous performance, he was forced to clamp a hand across his mouth not to laugh out loud.

"Yes, Princess," confirmed "Kimi-chan". "Chizuru-sama's uncle, Yukimura Kōdō-sensei. A very well-respected doctor, Commander Kondō, but apparently he had Chizuru-sama living with him as his daughter all this time without telling any of the family. The poor girl! Of course, the fire and the death of his brother may have affected his mind."

"Ah," managed Kondō, looking a little bewildered.

"But that doesn't matter now," declared Sen, her face transforming from grief to happiness. "She will have dear Saitō-san now—well, really he's a Sakurai, you know, although not quite, well, you know how it is." Sen retreated prettily behind a fan.

"And you think he will be able to prove his claim to the land?" Kondō asked, curious. "Also, aren't the Sakurai a junior branch of the Matsudaira family?"

"Oh yes, Kondō-san," Sen assured him. "My own mother was the historian of the family you know, and she kept very careful records. But in this case, well… again, one doesn't like to speak of it, but there are certain _letters_ that came into Mother's keeping that are quite, _quite_ conclusive. Oh, and yes, the Sakurai are distantly related to the Matsudaira—isn't that fun? Your Captain Saitō is really quite well-connected, although rather, ah, _unknown_ at this time."

"Well, that's certainly very surprising news," Kondō said, looking up as the door opened, admitting Hijikata. "Toshi, have you already heard this?"

"Yes, I believe I have," said Hijikata. "Princess, Kimigiku-san, allow me to introduce—or rather reintroduce—Nagakura Shinpachi-san."

Suitable bows were exchanged and the Vice Commander continued:

"I'm afraid that Nagakura won't be able to stay, Princess. Two of our other captains were supposed to accompany Kondō-san, and they seem to have run into trouble while searching for a criminal that we've been trying to locate for some time. At least, that is what we think has happened."

Sen clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Oh dear! I do hope your men are alright, Vice Commander!"

"As do I," Hijikata said dryly. He turned and nodded to Nagakura. "Get going then, and bring us word as soon as you can. We'll likely be here for the next hour or so."

"Yes, Vice Commander." Shinpachi bowed and promptly departed, much to Sen's evident disappointment.

"Such a good-looking officer, Commander Kondō," she murmured, with a fleeting, bright-eyed glance at Harada, who rolled his eyes.

But Kondō-san was sharper-eyed than Sen had given him credit for. He chuckled.

"It seems to me that you've already found an officer to your liking, Sen-hime," he said pointedly.

This time, Sen's blush was real, and Hijikata had to repress a sigh. _Not another one. Dear gods wasn't Saitō enough?_

Fortunately, the talk turned to the hastily-married couple at this point. Kondō-san expressed his disappointment that the young couple hadn't waited for his permission to marry. Sen exclaimed her concern for her innocent young cousin. Harada was almost sick with suppressed laughter by the time that they were done. Hijikata and Kimigiku-san just bore it all stoically, although the occasional look of resignation passed between them. It was difficult to say who had more fun with it all, Sen-hime or Kondō-san.

The sticking point, of course, was the matter of where Saitō and his bride would live. Hijikata suggested that it would be best for him to discuss the matter with Kondō-san and the young pair themselves.

Kondō-san showed no surprise when Sen told him that she'd provided them with a place nearby where they wouldn't be disturbed. On the whole, by the time that Kimigiku-san had escorted them to the door, Kondō-san and Sen were on quite good terms. Hijikata felt exhausted, but that was in part concern over Sōji and Heisuke. Nagakura hadn't returned, which boded ill. They left Harada behind, with express orders to return to the compound for dinner in an hour.

* * *

 **[VII] - Time Together, II**

* * *

Saitō woke from a light sleep feeling absolutely at peace with the world, but rather hungry. He propped his head up on one hand, and pushed his long, indigo hair back off his face with the other. After a few moments of contemplating his drowsing wife, he ran his hand down her side and then let his fingers trail up over her soft belly to gently caress one small breast. Chizuru's eyes opened a little and he heard a low chuckle.

"Mmm. This is the best way to wake up. I thought you'd sleep for longer, though."

"I was hungry. And you smell very good."

"Are those things connected, Hajime?" Chizuru shifted slightly as her husband's wandering hand found her other breast and started to play with the rosy tip. His fingers were slightly rough, but the sensation was electric.

"Apparently." Saitō draped one leg across hers, and brought his mouth down to nuzzle her shoulder. He started to trail love bites up toward her neck.

"So are we going to eat?" asked the brown-eyed girl, a little breathlessly.

"Yes," came the rather muffled response.

"Oh?" Chizuru's eyes had closed again, but when she felt his lean body shift onto hers, she looked up.

Dark blue eyes gazed back with the intent look that suggested that the food was going to wait.

"The food can wait," confirmed her husband. He traced his tongue over her lips, and settled more comfortably against her. "I need you more."

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/Note: Thank you for reading!** Next time... Amagiri and Kimigiku - old wounds. Among other things, of course...


	3. Evaluations

**Author's Note:**

I received many kind reviews and comments after the last chapter and wasn't able to respond to very many of you. I truly regret this, and can only hope that you will continue to send your thoughts and encouragement my way anyway!

I'd like to at least acknowledge the following people:

 **Guest** (I'm so sorry the app won't provide your userID-it would be great if I could write to you!); **Anon** (so glad you're out there!); **Shell1331** ; **Sabina-san; StariChanx** (thank you for touching base!); **PoivronRouge** (merci! j'espère que l'histoire continue à te plaire); **NyaPowa** (et merci à toi aussi!; I will write back, I promise, just need to catch up on sleep); **nakigaoyuu; 14Phantom** (still a little slower than it would be without that pesky RL, but here it is!)

Also thank you to **Danceswithseatbelts** for giving me the courage to actually let more smutty material see the light of day.

For some reason, I ended up writing a rather steamy scene for the newlyweds instead of just the devious plotting and planning I had in mind. I'm not quite sure what happened. (Ahem!) As before, I've separated this chapter into an M-rated and a T-rated edition.

Thank you to all my readers-it is truly encouraging to know that you're out there. \\(^u^)/

~ImpracticalOni

* * *

 **Chapter 69 – Evaluations**

* * *

 **[I] - Health Evaluation**

* * *

Saitō had fetched Yamazaki with surprisingly little difficulty. Harada's mental communication had been less easy to make out than when they had been beside each other, but when Sen-hime had—very reluctantly—woken him with a light touch on his mind, he had discovered that the other captain was patrolling outside Shimabara, some ways from the house. Harada's ability to contact Sen-hime from such a distance had shown a significant degree of control on the other captain's part, in Saitō's view. On the other hand, when Saitō had made his way to the front of the house, where Sen-hime had been waiting for him, her bright eyes and slight smile had suggested that Harada had found a way to combine duty and inclination.

He had found the Vice Commander in attendance on Yamazaki. Sen-hime or Kimigiku-san would have found the tableau rather interesting, since for all the differences, there were also subtle similarities between the three half-brothers. Hijikata-san had obviously been writing; however, it was also clear that he had been waiting for Saitō, since he had been rising even as the younger man slid unobtrusively into the room. Saitō was surprised that Hijikata-san had not reached for his sword—after all, he had been moving at speed and should have been very hard to sense.

"I would like the Oni to evaluate his condition," Hijikata had said, without preliminary. He did not mention the possible assassination attempt at all.

" _Hai_." Saitō had already been reviewing what he could sense from Yamazaki, using—clumsily, no doubt—the basic Gift of Soul that Amagiri had shown him. He hadn't really understood the soft colours of what his teacher had called the "aura"—there hadn't been time to learn what they meant—but something in the pattern had made him uneasy. Hijikata-san had obviously felt the same way:

"I'm worried that our damned spy did more than just throw Yamazaki off the roof. What do you think?"

"You may be right, Vice Commander."

"It is possible," Yamazaki had agreed from his futon. His voice had been thin and exhausted.

"Are there any risks in transporting you?" Saitō had asked him.

"Not that I can determine, Saitō-san. Also, although the fever began suddenly—or seemed to—it does not seem to be worsening now. Or not quickly. "

Saitō had waited to see if the Vice Commander had any other instructions for him, but apart from an injunction not to be seen, Hijikata-san had said very little. It was as if he had been trying to keep their interaction to a bare minimum.

Now, almost three hours later, Saitō guided his wife up the stairs to the room where he had left Yamazaki in the care of Sen-hime and Chiharu-sama. There had been no sign of Kimigiku-san, but Saitō had decided that it was not his business to inquire.

"Come in," called Sen-hime, when Chizuru asked for admittance.

Saitō followed Chizuru into the room, saw that all appeared to be as he had left it, and closed the door behind him. He felt alert and rested; the two hours of sleep that he had gotten after his return had been beneficial. He had been unsure whether to leave Yamazaki with the two Oni women, but it seemed to him that Sen-hime, at least, had been nothing but trustworthy so far.

" _Konbanwa_ , Chizuru-chan, Saitō-sama," murmured Chiharu. She was sitting facing the door, opposite Sen-hime. "Yamazaki-san is doing well, as you can both see for yourselves."

Saitō couldn't see any difference, but chose not to leave his place by the door. The space around the bed was crowded enough with all three women now studying the unfortunate occupant. Saitō had to suppress a rare smile when he realized that Yamazaki was awake and, not surprisingly, embarrassed.

"Haru-chan and I have just been speaking with Yamazaki-san," commented Sen, with a rather mischievous look. "He agrees that the fever is lower and his head aches less. His bruises all seem to have faded, including the one on his head. What is interesting, however, is that he appears to be healing himself in some fashion, which would explain the exhaustion. To be honest, I can't account for it except that his aura as an Oni is more defined now than it was on the one other occasion that he was on my property before."

"There is one anomaly that I would like to show you, Saitō-sama," said Chiharu softly. "I mean both of you," she added, smiling at Chizuru.

At Saitō's nod, she guided Chizuru through the steps to use Soul magic to see Yamazaki's aura. Saitō discovered that it was far more rapid for him now, and it made him frown internally, because it told him that Chizuru really was weaker than she should be because she had not passed the Trial of Mind. In reality, Chizuru had the greater potential for Soul magic.

It was strange to see the colours hovering around each of the others, and a bit disorienting. It took him a moment to focus on Yamazaki's much more muted outline.

"That is very strange," Chizuru said, bending forward over Yamazaki in a way she never would have done had she not been absorbed in her task. "Look, Hajime, it's almost as if it's woven here…"

Saitō, who was paying attention to the others, saw that the young women each registered a reaction to Chizuru's use of his first name: Sen-hime seemed both pleased and wistful; Chiharu-sama revealed little other than the fact that she had noticed. Aloud, he said:

"You mean that one point where the colours somehow meld together?"

"Yes," Chiharu said. "But Chizuru-chan's description is more accurate: the energies are woven, almost knotted together. It appears to be deliberate and if so, speaks of a significant Gift in melding several magics at once—Body and Soul primarily, but with coercion tied in. I've never seen anything like it; the only thing that is somewhat similar is way that Chizuru-chan melds Soul and Body magic in using her Gift of healing."

Saitō didn't miss the way Chiharu-sama's eyes flicked to his for a moment. It seemed like a warning, somehow. Since Sen-hime reached out for Chizuru's hand at the same time, it suggested to him that whatever they were thinking wasn't good news for her. Chizuru herself was still studying Yamazaki's aura, which was making the medic-shinobi more and more uncomfortable. Saitō was sympathetic to the other man's embarrassment, but it was well down on his priority list at the moment.

"I can _almost_ see what it's doing," Chizuru said just then, sounding rather pleased.

Sen-hime smiled encouragingly. She obviously—to Saitō—changed what she had been about to say.

"Let me help you visualize the aura more clearly then. Maybe you can advise us how to untangle it."

Saitō disliked the idea of anyone—even somebody who appeared to be a friend—somehow meddling in Chizuru's head, but he recognized the need to let it go. If his lips thinned a little, only Chiharu noticed.

After that, there were discussions between all three young women. Yamazaki kept his eyes closed for the most part. He still had a fever, and periodically Chiharu-sama would cool his forehead and then wipe sweat from his face and neck. Saitō suspected that the other man had refused to strip out of his shirt, which was foolish, but very understandable. He wondered if Chiharu-sama had ever performed such a mundane task. Even if she had, it surely wouldn't have been for a human or an unknown and untried part-Oni. To be fair, though, she didn't seem to mind, and appeared simply concerned and perhaps a little intrigued by the puzzle posed by Yamazaki's strange symptoms and abilities.

On the whole, Saitō was inclined to extend a small measure of trust toward Kazama's sister, if only by necessity. Saitō had serious issues with the Lord of the Western Clans, but his younger siblings didn't seem particularly infected with their elder brother's arrogance or prejudices. They were still rather intolerant of humans, but so were Amagiri and Sen-hime, in different ways and to different degrees. Both brother and sister were a little naïve, as well; there was no denying that they had been very much sheltered and took certain things for granted. At the same time, they had come at great personal effort and discomfort to pass along a message to their cousin, Sen-hime. Also, Chiharu-sama was apparently a strong and skilled master of Oni magic, which argued for a disciplined turn of mind.

At some point about an hour later, Sen-hime cautiously summed up their findings to Saitō. She seemed to have decided that since Yamazaki was a half-brother, the new Sakurai lord could take responsibility for him where Oni matters were concerned. _Until Hijikata-san is able to do so_ , she had added a little cryptically, although apparently only to Saitō and Chiharu-sama. Saitō saw the young blond woman turn a sharp look on Sen-hime, to which the princess returned a faint smile.

"If Chizuru-chan's intuition is correct—and it does align with our observations—then Yamazaki-san is in some danger of being forced into an unprepared Trial of the Body. However, thanks to Chizuru-chan's skills and with my and Haru-chan's help, we think that we have greatly reduced the danger. Essentially, our unknown Oni spy—he must be Oni—has tied Yamazaki-san into an unavoidable healing cycle. Self-healing requires an Oni physiology; therefore, the magic is set up so that with each attempt to self-heal, Yamazaki-san's body is attempting to shift form on a small level. The fever and pain are likely symptomatic of this cycle of forced healing leading to a forced small-scale shifting. Fortunately, Chizuru-chan was able to… to lessen the effects. First, by ensuring that Yamazaki-san is fully healed of physical injuries. Second, by loosening the imposed tie between the compulsion to self-heal and the Soul and Body components. Oh, and fortunately, Haru-chan was able to reduce the effect of the compulsion itself, although…"

"A compulsion to heal, to the point of risking one's life as a whole, would be beyond the Western Clans, in my opinion," said Chiharu, when Sen turned to her. "We have no ability to heal others, as far as I know, and therefore it would be difficult to fashion a spell like this one, which appears to begin with such a Gift. Unfortunately, Chizuru-chan has nobody to guide her in the more sophisticated use of her Gift of healing; consequently, she can only go as far as intuition takes her, and that is limited since she still does not have formal training in using any of the Gifts. This means that even between all three of us we have been unable to fully lift the spell."

Chizuru was troubled, as well she might be. This time the implication was too obvious to miss. The culprit in this, and in the previous attack on Shiranui-san, was most likely a member of her own Oni clan.

"Do you think that Kōdō-sensei might have done this?" she asked, upset but firmly in control of her voice.

"Well… based on Yamazaki-san's description of the spy that seems unlikely. Unless they are acting in concert, which is possible. This is very precise magic, however, and it is most likely to have been imposed by contact." Sen-hime squeezed Chizuru's hand. "I know it's awful to think about, but it might be your brother, you know. If you are alive, he may be as well."

Chizuru looked around for Saitō, but he was already at her side.

"It will be fine, Chizuru," he told her firmly. "Whether or not it is your brother, we will find him and… learn more about him." He narrowly avoided saying "deal with him", which he knew that the others would condemn and would hardly comfort Chizuru. Personally, he thought that things would likely end badly for the unknown Yukimura, if that's what he was; however, more information was needed.

Sen-hime had tactfully withdrawn a little when Saitō had knelt beside his wife, and she spoke instead to Yamazaki.

"How do you feel now, Yamazaki-san?"

There was short pause, and then the shinobi carefully sat up.

"My head has finally stopped hurting," he said cautiously. Then he remembered his company. "I am much better, Sen-hime, Kazama-sama, uh… Yukimura-san. Just very tired and thirsty. _Konbanwa_ , Saitō-san."

Sen-hime allowed him to finish tugging his shirt straighter, then handed him a cup.

"Did you notice the spy using anything that could be considered magic?" Saitō asked Yamazaki. It didn't seem likely, but Saitō took very little for granted.

"Yes, _taichō._ "

Saitō preserved his expression without difficulty, but he was pleased to see that Sen-hime and her cousin looked rather impressed. Chizuru, beside him, was curious, but slightly distracted.

"Go on, Yamazaki."

"With apologies to Sen-hime and Kazama-sama, I would prefer to explain matters to you alone, Saitō-san."

The shinobi reddened—sitting in rumpled clothes on a futon with his hair a tangled mess did not help his confidence—but Sen-hime was already rising. After a brief hesitation, Chiharu-sama rose as well. Chizuru glanced at Saitō, and he nodded reluctantly. He disliked having her out of his sight when he knew she was upset, but Sen-hime was more likely to say the right things than he was anyway.

Once the three women had left, Saitō indicated that Yamazaki should take the opportunity to tidy himself and look after any personal needs. They were very close in age, he reflected wryly. Shiranui-sama must have conducted his affairs either at the same time or in some haste. For a brief moment, Saitō felt an unexpected irritation with his father for having so little respect for his mother. However, there was nothing that he could do to change the situation in any useful way. Moreover, he was still suspicious of Suzuka Gozen's part in Shiranui Toshio's amorous adventures.

Saitō realized with a start that Yamazaki was waiting for him in order to begin. Apparently he still wasn't quite as settled into his married state as he had hoped. There was still an excess of emotion in his reflections. It had seemed as though he was becoming clearer-headed again, but perhaps he still had some ways to go.

"Go ahead, Yamazaki."

"Yes, Saitō-san. I have been able to sense… energy patterns… more and more over the last few days. Consequently, I noticed the spy using some kind of force against Okita-san in the battle in the alleyway below. I grappled with the boy hoping to assist Okita-san, and it is possible that he—the spy—was able to use his magic against me at that time. I should perhaps mention that the Commander himself asked me to join him and the other leaders after dinner this evening, in order to give a full report of the incident. Unfortunately, I was not in perfect health at the time, and I believe that my explanation was less than coherent. Hijikata-fukuchō was forced to assist me back to my quarters."

The Third Division Captain studied Yamazaki for a moment.

"Are you feeling well enough to give me a full report now?"

" _Hai_."

Saitō nodded for him to begin, and listened in silence as Yamazaki told him everything that he had noticed over the past several days, from Chizuru's healing ability to the spy's apparent effect on others. He was simultaneously impressed with his former pupil and concerned about how openly Yamazaki had spoken of his new abilities in front of everyone. It was just one more problem for the Shinsengumi: could they still trust their formerly incorruptible spy? For that matter, could they trust their Third Division Captain?

" _Shitsurei shimasu_ ," Chizuru said politely at the door, breaking into his thoughts.

"Come in."

Chizuru entered, closed the door softly behind her, and smiled at Saitō and Yamazaki.

"Saitō-san," she said, "Kimigiku-san has returned and wishes to know whether Yamazaki-san will be staying here tonight. Also, now that I see him again, I believe that Yamazaki-san needs to rest."

Saitō was momentarily taken aback, and then had to repress yet another smile. His shy little wife was telling him, in the gentlest way, that he should let Yamazaki go to bed before he fell over. She shouldn't have had to, but it was very easy to fall into old habits with Yamazaki. Still that was no real excuse; he should have noticed Yamazaki's fatigue for himself.

Chizuru knelt demurely by the door, unobtrusive and yet somehow unyielding. It occurred to him, belatedly, that she might want her husband to get some sleep as well. Or at least to come to bed? The thought escaped his control and he had to fight to keep the tell-tale blush off his cheeks.

"You are right, Chizuru," he said. He hoped he sounded as calm as she had. "And there is no need to be so formal under these circumstances." Although maybe he shouldn't have said that; it tended to distract him when she used his given name. He hurriedly cleared his throat. "Yamazaki. It would be better if you could return to the compound, wouldn't it?"

" _Aa_ ," agreed Yamazaki, stoically resigning himself to the trip. It would certainly be easier to avoid talk if he could spend the balance of the night in his room recovering from his supposed concussion. He was feeling a great deal better than he had, just tired.

"We will leave shortly," Saitō told him. "I will speak with Kimigiku-san. I expect she wishes to talk to me?"

The question was directed at Chizuru, who nodded. In the end, Kimigiku-san was satisfied that Yamazaki was well enough, and Saitō was competent enough, for the return to the Shinsengumi compound. Neither Saitō nor Chizuru asked where the Oni woman had gone, and Chizuru never did find out. Saitō discovered later, through Yamazaki, that it had been a surprisingly quiet night for the patrols, but that a number of Kyoto's male citizens had apparently vanished. As the Shinsengumi's medic had explained to the Third Division Captain, it had been strangely coincidental that so many of the missing had been men known for beating their wives or mistresses. The Shinsengumi's Inspectors were still looking into those disappearances that involved more prominent or wealthy men living within the Shinsengumi's jurisdiction. So far, they had turned up no leads, and no bodies.

* * *

 **[II] - Performance Evaluation, Part I**

* * *

This time, when Saitō returned from the Shinsengumi compound, he found Chizuru sitting in the front room with fresh tea. Her dark hair lay loose against her thin white sleeping yukata, and he felt an irrational—or perhaps entirely justified—annoyance that the tea prevented him from simply taking her to bed with him, whether to sleep or otherwise. However, he couldn't ignore the tea.

"Yamazaki is well," he told Chizuru, taking the cup that she was holding out to him. "You have worked your usual wonders."

"I am glad for that," Chizuru said. "Although _wonders_ seems like a very strong word, to me."

They each sipped their tea, Saitō uneasily conscious that his patience was eroding much faster than usual, and Chizuru evidently mulling over some piece of unpleasant news.

"You could just tell me," Saitō suggested at last.

Chizuru flushed, and her free hand reached for his. He was starting to get used to her instinct to touch him when she was troubled.

"Osen-chan and Haru-chan are going to visit Yukishima-sama tomorrow morning," she blurted out. "And Kimigiku is very upset about it. She said that no matter what Osen-chan orders, she will only stay away as long as _you_ are nearby keeping an eye on things and waiting for them to come back out of the estate. She also said that there was no way that you would let me help, because _you_ had more sense than that. Um… I think you can see how it went."

Saitō set down his empty cup and wrapped his arms tightly around his wife. The rain was rustling down through the leaves outside, and the room was dim despite the lamps that Chizuru had lit. Up close, he could see that she was pale and a little shaken.

"Kimigiku-san is correct. I will not allow you to go within a mile of that place or that woman. The risk is unacceptable."

"But Hajime! What about Osen-chan? She can't bring Kimigiku with her! And I don't think that Yukishima-sama likes Osen-chan very much. She sounds like a very—" Chizuru hesitated, apparently seeking a word.

Saitō waited, more patient now that he knew the extent of the problem. To be fair, he needed to think it over himself. It seemed like a useful way to gather information; however, he shared Kimigiku-san's concerns for Sen-hime's safety.

"She must be stopped," Saitō commented, when Chizuru evidently couldn't decide on a word that was sufficiently negative without being unnecessarily condemning. "You can't think well of them both, you know. Either Kimigiku-san and Amagiri are lying, or Yukishima-sama is possibly mad and certainly cruel."

"Yes, Hajime," murmured Chizuru, looking sad. "But couldn't somebody else stop her? Or maybe if she came here, then I could help her."

"That is not going to happen."

"But—"

"No." When Chizuru stiffened in his arms, he rose and set her on her feet. He desperately didn't want to argue. "What of Amagiri? He needs every chance to rest and heal. He is my responsibility—our responsibility. Would you bring his enemy here? She is the head of her clan and dangerous. Chizuru, think a little."

Chizuru winced at the reproof.

"B-but, you're considering challenging her by yourself. Hajime… I wish you wouldn't."

He stared down into her eyes. "Why not?"

"You could be killed."

"That is always possible. But it is not necessarily probable. I thought you had faith in me? Be brave for me, then."

Chizuru bowed slightly, her eyes downcast.

"Yes, Hajime. And I won't go with Osen-chan and Haru-chan either."

"Thank you."

"Maybe I'm feeling more worried than usual because of the news about my… my brother. _Gomenasai_ , Hajime."

Saitō eyed her warily. Was she angry? Upset? Unhappy?

"You do not need to apologize, Chizuru."

"Since I can't do anything else, I could at least be a better wife and let you go to bed." There was the tiniest of pauses and then Chizuru added: "But I want to be more useful!"

"Without you, Yamazaki would be in considerable difficulty. Heisuke might be dead, along with two of Harada's best men. And I would be alone." He hadn't really meant to say the last part, and he reddened because it sounded so pathetic.

"I'll stop being so selfish, Hajime, I promise," Chizuru told him earnestly. "I'll stay safe now and learn to use my abilities as quickly as I can so that I can defend myself better in the future."

Her husband tested her words for hidden pitfalls—had he missed anything? He relaxed slightly when her expression remained resolute and her eyes stayed fixed on his face instead of the floor.

"So now we can get some sleep?" he asked cautiously.

"Now we can go to bed," Chizuru corrected him. "I've gotten lots of sleep, and you don't seem to need much."

"My demanding wife." Saitō was entranced. He felt his control slip and let it go without regret.

Chizuru blushed, but managed to keep her eyes from wavering.

"Um, yes? A-although that's not a very nice way to put it, Hajime."

Saitō took her face in both hands and kissed her with bruising force on the lips. As his tongue explored her mouth, he walked her backwards until he was pressing her body tightly against the closest wall. It was perfectly clear that both his mind and body were fully aroused. Chizuru shivered slightly, but not from cold or fear.

 _Do I seem unwilling?_

 _N-no?_

 _I could take you now._

Coherent speech—even mental speech—seemed to become unnecessary, or perhaps impossible. Encouraged by Chizuru's audible hum of anticipation and assisted inexpertly but enthusiastically to remove or loosen any confining clothing, Saitō easily lifted her nearly naked body to a better angle and entered her, rather more roughly than usual but apparently to mutual satisfaction. His mouth fell away from hers as he rocked faster and faster within her, his breathing quickly becoming harsher and irregular. She could feel his breath in her ear and then his teeth on the soft skin of her neck. Even as she gasped and then moaned against him, she knew that he had at least partly shifted form, because his teeth had sharpened and the bruises that were forming on her neck contained stinging points where the surface of the skin was broken.

Chizuru had wrapped her legs around Saitō's waist almost automatically, and she used the leverage to rub her upper body and hips against him, the dusky pink nipples of her small breasts conveying delightful sensations as she moved against the planes of his muscled chest. She could feel the tightness and pulsing between her legs becoming almost painful, and tried rather frantically to move even faster in anticipation. She could smell their combined exertion and undeniable readiness.

"Do… I… please you… Chizuru?" The words were a low growl in her ear, and she whimpered as the angle at which he was moving changed just slightly to put pressure just _there_ where she wanted it most. He was reading her body, she thought, or her mind. Since he wanted to hear it, she somehow controlled her breath long enough to manage a clear "yes" and his name: "Hajime…"

They tipped over the edge at nearly the same moment, clinging to each other as they came, hips pressed tightly together as though to make the most of each gasping tremor. Chizuru wasn't altogether sure how or at what point they ended up on the floor, bodies still entwined and shaking slightly. As if through a haze, she noticed the slight roughness of the tatami and the way that they were both covered with sweat, other fluids mingling into the perspiration at the point of greatest sensation, where their bodies were still joined.

Eventually, Saitō stirred and kissed his beloved wife gently before withdrawing with a faint sigh.

"Wait here," he said, rising with his usual ease to fetch cool, damp cloths.

Chizuru watched him in utmost content, feeling as though her whole body was quietly glowing with satisfaction but very heavy. Her eyes were closed when he returned, and she was only vaguely aware of him cleaning them both up without fuss or apparent embarrassment. It was strange, she thought a little dreamily, that the most intimate situations didn't seem to bother him in the way that she would expect.

"I hope we can get a few hours of sleep this time," Saitō commented, as he tucked Chizuru into the futon and lay down beside her—after arranging his swords, of course.

"You sound smug," Chizuru murmured sleepily. She sensed silent laughter behind her.

 _A little_ , agreed a whisper in her mind.

* * *

 **[III] - Performance Evaluation, Part II**

* * *

The day of the fateful visit to Yukishima-sama dawned bright and clear, and very warm. Fortunately, the Oni were largely impervious to either hot or cold temperatures.

Kimigiku helped Sen to dress in glowering silence, which Sen affected not to notice. Not surprisingly, the young princess was relieved when her cousin came in to ask for assistance with her own semi-formal wear. For one thing, Kimigiku couldn't be as disapproving with Haru-chan as with Sen, and for another, since Sen and Haru-chan had very different colouring, the shinobi enjoyed the challenge of dressing the older girl and selecting appropriate ornaments, which alleviated some of her bad mood.

Nevertheless, it was a sombre group that met mid-morning by the front door. Even Kichirō was present. Unfortunately, although at some point before breakfast his sister had finally explained to him that Sakurai-sama—Saitō-san to the humans—had not caused Amagiri any harm, his wariness where the indigo-haired swordsman was concerned hadn't greatly abated. Chiharu had not felt equal to explaining what had actually happened between Saitō-san, Amagiri and Chikage, and Kichirō was understandably irritated. For his part, Saitō was successfully masking his uneasiness around Kichirō, but even Chizuru's partiality couldn't blind her to the fact that his features had settled into an uncompromising reserve.

Saitō and Chizuru had eaten a quiet breakfast together, both of them feeling slightly self-conscious about the night before. Fortunately, that shyness had mostly gone by the time they exchanged a private kiss prior to leaving their rooms to join the others. Chizuru had concealed her apprehension with moderate success, and had managed to be the only person of the group other than Chiharu to present at least the appearance of serenity. Kichirō regarded her with manifest admiration as she stood near her husband, which caused Sen to turn away to hide a laugh, and might or might not have contributed to Saitō's expression (or lack thereof). Even Amagiri, whose face rivalled Saitō's for general impassivity, seemed momentarily amused.

Amagiri seemed significantly better than he had been the day before. He had agreed without protest to Saitō's request that Kimigiku and Chizuru examine his wounds, noting that even the deepest cut, across his chest, had unaccountably closed over and was no longer bleeding, which was a considerable improvement. Saitō could not account for the fact that the big Oni seemed to find this funny, for some reason. Amagiri didn't speak of the missing hand, and Saitō didn't ask.

As Sen-hime and Chiharu-sama stepped into the high clogs that would allow them to keep their long kimonos from the worst of the dust, Saitō surprised the others by turning to Kichirō with a request:

"Would you come with me this morning, Kichirō-kun? It would be better for there to be two of us to escort the princess and your sister. Also, I understand that Chiharu-sama is under your protection while she is in Kyoto."

Kichirō looked a little startled, as did Chiharu, but Chizuru smiled warmly and Amagiri nodded approvingly. Kimigiku continued to frown, but said nothing.

"I think that's an excellent plan," said Sen, who had considered the idea earlier but given it up in the face of the principals' continued wariness. She wondered why Saitō-san had changed his mind, and decided that he must be doing it to please Chizuru. For the third or fourth time that morning she had to banish laughing amber eyes from her mind; resolutely, she focussed her considerable energy on planning for the meeting ahead.

With an attention to rank that commended itself to Amagiri and Kimigiku, Saitō assisted Sen-hime to descend the shallow stairs to the front garden path. Those who didn't know him well found his parting from his new bride rather lacking—just a few murmured words—but only Kichirō didn't immediately suspect that a much warmer exchange had taken place out of the sight of prying eyes.

When they reached the road, they found Sen-hime's manservant waiting with two chairs for the ladies. Sen-hime had already explained to her guests that they would take the chairs across the south end of Kyoto and then leave them, ostensibly to pay a visit on a friend, but actually to take the forest path into the village of Yase.

"The path cannot be used by those who do not have permission to enter the heart of my domain," Sen had told them. "Fortunately, I am the one who grants and revokes the permission. To be honest, most Oni are granted permission as soon as they are presented to the Princess of the Oni, and it's rarely revoked. We'll send a note to my uncle, to let him know that we'll have lunch with him at mid-day, and then we'll go straight to the Yukishima estate, which borders the southeastern boundary of the village."

They reached the house of the "friend", who turned out to be another part-Oni servant of Sen-hime's, and the carriages were dismissed. The servant, an older woman who had been with Sen-hime when she was a child, bowed deeply to the princess and almost as deeply to Kazama-sama and Kazama Chiharu-sama. Saitō-san was introduced as an acquaintance of Amagiri-san's and accorded a polite bow, which Saitō returned. He looked very much like the warrior that he was, and the woman concluded that he was some favoured part-Oni protegée travelling with Kichirō-sama and Chiharu-sama, although the hair reminded her more of the Shiranui.

Saitō and Kichirō had not spoken much as they had walked through Kyoto. This was partly because Saitō was keeping an uneasy eye on their surroundings, while Kichirō was staring around in interest at all the people, and partly because even Kichirō was responsible enough to watch over his sister's conveyance as they walked, which put him at some distance from the intimidating Shinsengumi captain.

Once in the forest, however, Kichirō became less interested in his surroundings, and less worried about his sister. Saitō, of course, was just as cautious as before, but when Sen-hime took her cousin's arm and gave Saitō a meaningful look, he dropped back behind the two women to speak with Kichirō. He had been instructed by Chizuru to be nice to the boy, to make up for almost strangling him. When he explained that of course he had planned to resolve things appropriately, she had laughed at him. He still wasn't sure why.

It was Kichirō who opened the conversation. Something had been bothering him throughout most of the trip. Specifically, he had noticed that Saitō carried his swords on his right hip, not his left like most warriors.

"Ah… Saitō-sama?" he said diffidently, taking Saitō's willingness to walk beside him as an invitation to speak.

"Yes?"

"Do you usually fight left-handed?"

" _Aa_."

This was not a promising response, but Kichirō was intrigued.

"Hijikata-san told me that he trains all of his captains to know how to face left-handed opponents."

Saitō was caught off-guard, although his expression didn't waver. After a moment's cogitation, he said:

"Did you attempt to fight left-handed against the Vice Commander?"

The boy's patent embarrassment answered the question for him. Saitō eyed him rather grimly.

"He agreed to a match with you and you chose not to use your full skill?" Somehow, the uninflected statement conveyed disapproval.

"It was… a mistake," muttered Kichirō. "I have apologized to Hijikata-san."

Saitō sensed that he was not accomplishing what his wife had intended. He wished that he could explain to her how difficult it was not to hate Kichirō-kun on looks alone, but the truth was that he disliked the reaction himself—it represented an illogical and exploitable weakness.

"It was not my intent to criticize, Kichirō-kun. The Vice Commander does not need me to speak for him." _Except with Sōji_ , Saitō added to himself, _and even then it is not really worth it._

Just for a moment, Saitō wished that he were back in the compound practising with Sōji. The other man was abrasive and often annoying, but Saitō had rarely let it bother him. He valued Sōji's skill and knew that the respect was returned. Until quite recently they had been evenly matched, although Saitō had won most of their bouts simply because he so rarely lost focus. The other man was outstanding against real enemies, however, and was perhaps the more truly gifted swordsman. It was difficult to say. Saitō lacked Sōji killing instinct; Sōji lacked Saitō's detachment. Together, they had never been beaten.

Kichirō drew Saitō away from his thoughts.

"Hijikata-san is an exceptional swordsman, isn't he?"

"Yes," agreed Saitō, "but he is even more powerful in battle than he is in practice. In the Shinsengumi, it is more important to win, and to stay alive, than it is to observe every form of a particular _ryu_."

"Are all the captains of the Shinsengumi great swordsmen like Hijikata-san?" Kichirō asked, his curiosity overcoming good manners. "I mean, other than Harada-san, since he uses a spear."

Saitō reflected on the question.

"Most of the captains are outstanding swordsmen," he said at last. Then, in an effort to steer the conversation toward something more neutral—and more intrinsically interesting—than an assessment of capabilities of the Shinsengumi officers, he asked: "Do you like swords?"

Apparently, he had finally found the right question. As they walked rather slowly in the wake of the two elegant ladies ahead of them, Saitō was at first surprised and then gratified to discover somebody who might appreciate swords as much as he did, or Sōji did. Hijikata-san appreciated swords, of course, but he rarely had time to discuss them.

Saitō listened with interest as Kichirō-kun expounded on various smiths, techniques, and schools, ancient, old and new. The boy found Saitō's questions and comments so apt that he eventually forgot some of his dignity and entered into a debate about the probable origin of an especially famous blade with such ardour that Chiharu-sama turned around to make sure that he wasn't offending or boring Saitō. The look of concern on his sister's face made Kichirō recollect himself, but before he could become flustered, Sen-hime also stopped, saying:

"Don't worry, Haru-chan. From what _I've_ heard, Saitō-san is rather _enthusiastic_ about swords." The princess smiled at Saitō, who could only bow politely and agree.

It suddenly occurred to Saitō to worry about what Harada might have told Sen-hime about him. Within the Shinsengumi, the spearman had been known to joke that Saitō could ignore _sake_ , entertainment, fine food and even finer women without a blink, but could be reduced to near-imbecility by some ancient piece of tortured metal.

"I am interested in swords," he said calmly to Kichirō. "And it seems that you must have had either good teachers or excellent books to know so much about them."

Kichirō-kun shot his sister a triumphant look, but he acquiesced to Saitō's suggestion that they wait to finish their discussion until after the princess and Lady Chiharu had been seen indoors. Saitō felt that Chizuru and Hijikata-san with be pleased with how he had handled things, and turned his full attention back to his surroundings.

The village palisade came into view shortly afterward. Sen-hime had seen it many times before, of course, and her cousins had been there at least two or three times, but Saitō found it disconcerting to find an entire village so close to Kyoto—practically on its outskirts—that he knew nothing about. There were no guards at the gate, but Sen-hime looked all of her guests over with care before they entered. She paid particular attention to Saitō, but appeared to be satisfied with what she saw.

"Haru-chan, what do you think?"

Chiharu-sama also scrutinized Saitō, which he found very unlike her usual polite, refined behaviour.

" _Sumimasen deshita_ , Saitō-sama," Chiharu said after a moment. "Either Osen-chan or I should have explained what we were doing." The quick look she gave her younger cousin suggested that she knew perfectly well who to blame for the oversight.

"Oh well, Haru-chan," Sen said airily, "Saitō-san is used to it I expect. Kimigiku tells me that he is quite admired by certain young ladies in town, although he is a heartbreaker and has never taken the slightest hint offered."

Saitō waited for one of them to explain their actions. He had been a little embarrassed, until he had realized that Sen-hime was nervous. That was reasonable, he allowed. She was going into battle with an unknown but possibly formidable foe.

"Osen-chan told me that your aura wouldn't give you away to any spies or just general busybodies we run into. On the whole, I believe that she is correct. You have nowhere near the presence that I've seen recently. Kichirō could do well to learn that trick."

Saitō reflected to himself that it seemed highly unlikely that any male Kazama could or would avoid manifesting a powerful aura. Of course, he preferred not to think about the Kazama as a clan; it made it difficult to maintain his tranquil aura and mask his presence.

"Let us go, then. We will give you up to an hour inside the estate, and then come to the door to fetch you if you haven't left already. If we are unable to locate you easily, Kichirō will fetch Kimigiku."

Sen-hime looked a little taken aback by Saitō's serious expression, but Chiharu nodded. Kichirō looked upset.

"What if you need me to help you, Saitou-sama?" he asked, a little icily.

"There is nobody else to send for assistance who can move quickly enough," the indigo-haired captain replied calmly. "And I believe that I am currently better equipped to survive until help arrives than you are."

Kichirō hesitated, for the first time clearly worried about his sister. He didn't even know why he was worried about her, but he trusted his instincts and the strange dynamics he'd been feeling.

Saitō broke the silence a few seconds later.

"There is an easy way to resolve this," he said, eyes scanning for a location with a little more space. "Kichirō-kun has a duty to protect his sister, and Sen-hime, and he has never faced me. His concern is logical. If he is stronger than I am, then I should be the one to fetch assistance in the case of emergency."

"You're going to _fight_?" demanded Sen.

"Of course," murmured Chiharu, who was beginning to get a better sense for Saitō's way of thinking. "It really is perfectly _logical_ , Osen-chan."

Kichirō looked suddenly very uncertain. In Oni politics one _never_ challenged an accepted clan head to a fight. It was considered very, very bad manners and was usually fatal, according to the records. On the other hand, Saitō-sama appeared to be quite unemotional about it.

"I suggest a fight to first blood or first disarm," noted Saitō, waiting for Kichirō to join him.

"Ah, Saitō-san," said Sen, recovering from her surprise. "You should know that among our people, a challenge to a clan lord's ability is considered very serious. I assume that you do not intend any actual harm to Kichirō?"

Saitō frowned. He had forgotten the problem of status. Among the Shinsengumi, and likely most of the ruffians in Kyoto, his name and person were known. And it was true. No mere soldier would approach a captain and demand to test his ability. It would be a terrible breach of authority.

"The mistake was mine," he said curtly. "I will not harm Kichirō-kun. But we must know each other's skill. The test is necessary so that I know Kichirō-kun's ability."

Sen-hime nodded decisively. "Then that's settled. Kichirō, are you ready?"

Chiharu could tell that Kichirō was not looking as confident as he usually did before a bout. He was no doubt factoring in that Sen-hime was clearly worried about him and not Saitō-sama.

"Come at me when you are ready," ordered Saitō briefly. He drew his katana and thought of when he had tested Chizuru; it was an oddly fond memory of his. Of course, he did not reverse his blade on this occasion as Chizuru had against him. Kichirō was fifteen, and Saitō had been fighting serious matches at that age. The boy was also a pureblood Oni trained by Kazama Chikage.

It was strange to wait for an opponent with his sword already drawn. Saitō usually favoured a one-handed quick-draw that began with the katana sheathed. Unfortunately, he truly had no idea of Kichirō's skill. Starting with his sword drawn meant a greater range of options for avoiding major injuries on either side.

Kichirō paused for a moment to steady himself and then took up an attack stance. Saitō noted that he wielded his katana one-handed, which made sense for a person with Oni strength.

"I come!" called the boy, obviously determined to do nothing underhanded.

He moved with flashing speed, sure-footed and strong, nerves forgotten in the joy of his favourite activity. _Heisuke or Sōji would understand that grin_ , thought Saitō, discovering that he did have a little time to gauge this opponent. _He loves this_. Saitō avoided the quick lunge, seeking to preserve his blade. He waited patiently for an opening, making sure to keep moving, and staying on the defensive. Whenever he had to parry Kichirō's blade away, he avoided catching the blows against the edge of his katana, because of the strength behind the boy's swings.

Once Saitō had evaluated Kichirō's ability— _very good to excellent_ —he side-stepped yet another blow, but this time his blade traced a thin line of red across the side of the boy's neck. A little shocked by how suddenly the fight had ended, but very well trained, Kichirō lowered his weapon, conceding. The cut closed immediately.

There was a moment of silence. Then Kichirō and Saitō bowed to each other, and Kichirō took a deep breath.

"Saitō-sama," he said earnestly. "Hijikata-san said that if I truly wished to improve, then I should train with you. I should not have questioned his advice. If you have any time while we are in Kyoto, I would be very grateful if you would teach me."

He bowed again, his long blond hair brilliant in the sunlight. Saitō just stared at him, completely taken aback. _Hijikata-san would know what to say_ , he thought, a little wildly. Fortunately, good manners came to his rescue.

"If there is time, then I would be pleased to train with you, Kichirō-kun," he said at last. He turned to Sen-hime and Chiharu-sama. The former seemed to be evaluating the latter's reaction. That was understandable, given what he understood of the political and cultural differences between the two factions. However, it was time to move on.

Apparently, he was not the only one to think so.

"Are we ready to go now?" asked Sen in friendly tones, as if two of her party had not just been fighting each other at superhuman speeds. She looked satisfied with whatever she'd read into her cousin's expression and thoughtful silence.

"Yes, Princess," acknowledged Saitō. "Please lead on."

Without further ado, and in the profound hope that nobody else had witnessed Saitō's second duel as an Oni, Sen led them into the Oni village of Yase, the original home of Suzuka Gozen, First Lady of Yase and Kyoto.

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/Note: See you all again soon I hope!** Reviews and comments are always most welcome. Thank you for reading!

 **Note 2:** Given some expressed concern over Kimigiku's implied activities, I'd like to mention that I rarely write characters OOC without a reason. Stay tuned.


	4. Healing, Part I

**Author's Note:**

 **Housekeeping details:** This chapter has **a section that is rated M** as it deals with **sexual content and themes**. Therefore, the full-length chapter 74 is found under "The Teachings of Demons-M-Rated Content" (in my story list). The T-rated chapter is found in the usual place. Very generally, the M-rated content follows Saitō's and Chizuru's time together after the latest upheaval and in particular their attempt to discuss their different perspectives on successful intimacy. Not surprisingly, Chizuru may be less knowledgeable about certain things, but she is also less afraid of making mistakes and being vulnerable.

Thank you to everyone for all the encouragement over the last two chapters! I managed to write back to almost everyone, one way or another (i.e., here or on tumblr); if I haven't responded to you _yet_ , my sincere apologies, and I will. I'm trying to break an unusually difficult round of insomnia, and still make sure to get my writing in every day (or night, as the case may be!). All of the comments I've received have demonstrated a sincere engagement that impresses me and for which I am truly grateful. That being said, even touching base in a review to say that you enjoyed the chapter and/or are enjoying the story is greatly appreciated. Comments or concerns (or even noted typos!) can be sent to my PM here.

I'd like to welcome **Bluebonnet** , who just started reading _Teachings of Demons_ after discovering and finishing the Hakuouki anime. Thank you for your kind review and for taking on the challenge of reading such a lengthy story! As you are already at Chapter 35 (Family Matters, Part III), you have a good idea of what you've gotten into and I'm hopeful that you'll stay with me!

Thank you also to Anon (Guest), for a tremendously encouraging review as well as some very good "educated guesses" about the future. I always enjoy hearing from you when you're able to get a review in!

 **Last:** I'd like to post a revised an **updated List of the Oni Clans** , either as Chapter 75 or shortly afterward. While I will try to keep it spoiler-free, there may be indications of backgrounds that have already been hinted at in the story. If you have a chance, could you let me know any comments you might have on this? For example, do you want it kept absolutely spoiler-free? Are minor (and already probable) spoilers okay? Do you agree that having the Clan list updated will be helpful? **Comments in Reviews or PMs would be appreciated.**

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

~ImpracticalOni \\(^u^)~

* * *

 **Quote:**

 **Let's Hear It for the Boy**

My baby he don't talk sweet  
He ain't got much to say  
But he loves me, loves me, loves me  
I know that he loves me anyway (v.1)

…

Whoa, maybe he's no Romeo  
But he's my lovin' one-man show  
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa  
Let's hear it for the boy (v.3, follows chorus)

 _\- Deniece Williams_

* * *

 **Chapter 74—Healing, Part I**

* * *

 **[I] - In the Matter of a Young Widow**

* * *

Harada and Nagakura left immediately after the ceremony—if such it could be called, given the circumstances. Harada placed a gentle hand on Sen's shoulder before taking his leave.

"I'm sorry things went sideways for you, _hime-chan_. I'm afraid that happens with an awful lot of plans."

Sen managed the ghost of a smile at the impudent nickname. She was conscious of how much she wished the tall red-head could stay, but managed to keep any look of entreaty off her face. Harada-san's time was entirely at the disposal of his commanding officer; Sen accepted that Hijikata-san had been very generous with his officers' time already. Also, it sounded as though the Shinsengumi officers were genuinely needed back at their headquarters.

"Thank you again for coming to our aid this afternoon, Harada-san." Sen inclined her head politely, cheeks only a little pink. "Thank you for your help as well, Nagakura-san," she added, giving her attention to the man behind Harada.

The Second Division Captain looked suitably serious, and bowed courteously, but an impish sort of smile seemed to lurk in his eyes.

"I hope we'll see you again soon, Sen-hime. It's been interesting."

Nagakura also took the time to wish Kimigiku-san all the best, which Harada viewed rather warily. It didn't entirely surprise him that his friend had already spent a few moments with Yukishima Akane-san; what did surprise him was that Shinpachi would evince any kind of interest in that direction in the first place. The part-Oni woman was striking enough, with her coppery hair and light grey eyes; she was quite tall, as well, and graceful, perhaps as a result of her Oni heritage. However, everything about her seemed muted, so that her height and good looks weren't immediately apparent; in fact, to Harada, she projected a sense of being easy to overlook, which he suspected was deliberate. It was odd, though: Shinpachi usually preferred a more buxom, easier-going type.

Once the two captains had gone, Sen and Kimigiku set about dealing with their most urgent problem: the matter of roughly two dozen bodies currently lying in the house and on the grounds. On top of that, Chiharu was still injured, and Chikame and Mamoru were still unconscious.

"Well, we're obviously going to have to get my uncle involved," Sen said decisively. "He behaves like an old woman sometimes, but he's competent and he'll know what to do and who to contact. Besides, Haru-chan and I were supposed to have lunch with him."

"I was wondering about that," murmured Chiharu. Although she was grateful for the coat that Akane-san had brought her to put over her torn and blood-stained finery, she was rapidly reaching the point of wanting to wash and lie down.

"How can I help?" Chizuru asked, although she truly didn't want to go back into the blood-soaked rooms.

"You're going back to my home in Kyoto," Sen told her firmly. "You've already worked wonders. Besides, now that I've recovered a bit, I can tell that your husband is closer to falling over than he's admitting."

"I agree that Chizuru should return to your home," Saitō said calmly. "Moreover, the Vice Commander made arrangements for Yamazaki-kun to be available there to assist with any wounded. I suggest that Chiharu-sama and Kichirō-kun come with us."

Saitō knew that Chizuru was torn between helping Sen-hime and Kimigiku-san with their grievous responsibilities, and looking after her husband and Chiharu-sama, and he had no intention of leaving her with such a decision. Besides, he had a strong intuition that Kimigiku-san would prefer to deal with her immediate problems without other clans, or clan-heads, involved. That meant that while Sakurai-sama and Kazama Kichirō-kun could be of obvious assistance to her, it was unlikely that she really wanted them there. Sen-hime and her clan would be far more welcome, and perhaps Yukishima Akane-san.

"I agree, Saitō-san," Kimigiku said at once. She turned to her new-found relatives. "This is a difficult time for you as well, Akane-san. However, I would be grateful for your knowledge and assistance."

The quiet woman bowed.

"I would be happy to serve you, Yukishima-sama. Also, I believe that I may be of assistance with Chikame-sama. We have spoken with each other many times over the past two years."

Kimigiku smiled at her aunt-by-marriage, trying not to envy her friendship with Kameko. Of course, she didn't know this part-Oni, but she sensed no danger from her either. The fact that Sen-hime, Chiharu-sama, Chizuru-sama and even the paranoid Saitō-san seemed inclined in the woman's favour was no small consolation as well.

" _Arigatou_ , Akane-san—if I may use your given name?"

"Of course, Yukishima-sama. I would be honoured. May my children stay with me, or would you prefer them to remain with Sen-hime's household?"

Saitō saw or sensed a glimmer of both approval and dismay from Kimigiku-san. Akane-san knew that the others didn't—couldn't—quite trust her, and was indicating that she accepted that her children might be held as hostages against her. Even to Saitō's coldly pragmatic mind, such behaviour was a chilling, if unspoken, indictment of Akane-san's experience and expectations with respect to the Yukishima, or perhaps Oni in general. His eyes shifted to Kimigiku-san, who reacted as he expected.

"Of course Michi-chan and Mikio-kun may stay with you, Akane-san. However, it might be best for them to remain at Sen-hime's Yase estate this afternoon, while the rest of us make suitable arrangements."

"As you say, Yukishima-sama," Akane agreed. She turned to her children, who were still sitting silently a little ways behind her. "We will visit Sen-hime's home shortly. Please behave appropriately."

Saitou put his hand over Chizuru's, even though it was not strictly decorous, under the circumstances. He knew that she found the discussion heart-breaking: these children had just lost their father, and their future was uncertain, but they were expected to be as quiet and obedient as if nothing out-of-the-way had happened. Chizuru relaxed immediately at his touch, somehow reminded without words that she could trust Osen-chan and Kimigiku-san to deal kindly with Akane-san and her twins. As always, Saitō found it strange that Chizuru found his presence comforting, although he accepted the clear evidence that it was so.

"Don't worry, Michi-chan, Mikio-kun," Sen was saying to her young soon-to-be guests. "I'll make sure that you have your own rooms to use. There is no need for you to have to deal with any more new people than you've already met." Despite her own concerns, she gave the children—who were only four years her junior, after all—the conspiratorial smile that Harada found so engaging. It was particularly irresistible with the force of Soul and Mind magic behind it.

" _Arigatou gozaimasu_ , Sen-hime" Michi said, bowing. After a moment, her brother followed suit.

A few minutes later, Saitō bowed respectfully to Sen-hime and Kimigiku-san.

" _Shitsurei shimasu_ , Sen-hime, Yukishima-sama. We should go. Kichirō-kun and I will escort Chiharu-sama and Chizuru back to your home, Sen-hime."

"Of course, Saitō-san." Sen-hime smiled fondly at Chizuru, before taking her older cousin's hands and pressing them tightly. "Haru-chan, I am in your debt. I can only hope to repay you in the future for your staunch defense under such circumstances."

Chiharu flushed at the warm words. That the Princess of the Oni was acknowledging a personal debt was no small thing, but at the moment she found that the greater satisfaction lay in knowing that she _had_ successfully done her duty, and had done it without reservation. And Saitō-sama and Hijikata-san had recognized it as well, which was curiously important to her. She never would have believed that the respect of two relative strangers—and one only a part-Oni—would matter so much.

"You can always rely on me, Osen-chan," she replied, bowing once her cousin released her hands. "Please take care of yourself, Kimigiku. I know that you will manage everything efficiently, as you always do, but… if I can ever be of assistance, I hope you will let me know."

Kimigiku met eyes an even darker purple than her own, and nodded. The young Kazama woman had surprised her over the past few days, proving on several occasions that she had qualities beyond her intelligence and Oni Gifts. Grudgingly, she had to admit that Suzuka Gozen, so-called First Lady of Yase and Kyoto, had done the right thing in sending the Kazama siblings to their aid. Not that it paid for her other sins.

Saitō made sure that Kichirō was assisting his sister to rise, and then he took his leave politely of Akane-san, a courtesy that would have surprised his colleagues, except that they would have (correctly) assumed that he was simply gathering information. Chizuru, on the other hand, was far more genuine in wishing the woman and her children well. Saitō managed not to sigh. Preventing Chizuru from caring about people was beyond him. The best he could do was walk the thin line between ensuring that she didn't harm herself through physical and emotional exhaustion, and not adequately respecting her right to make her own choices. He already knew that sometimes he was going to err on the side of caution and get it wrong, but so be it; better that he take on the guilt for refusing to heal somebody than Chizuru get seriously hurt.

* * *

 **[II] - Conversations and Diversions**

* * *

They returned to Sen-hime's house in Kyoto by as direct a route as possible. Eventually, despite his own unacknowledged pain, Saitō had picked up Chiharu-sama so that they could get her to a safe place faster. Not one of them had been comfortable with it, but after the young woman had stumbled a second time, and Chizuru had discovered that her wound was bleeding a little again, Saitō had told them what they were going to do and they had done it. Kichirō-kun was getting better at Fast Travel, at least.

A very grim-faced Amagiri met them at the door, along with Sen-hime's female servant. His feelings were carefully contained, however.

"Kichirō-kun, carry your sister up to her bed. Mika-san will care for her. Yukimura-sama, I expect that you will wish to attend to Chiharu-sama as well."

Chizuru was impressed with how well he made an order sound deferential. She smiled at her husband, who was wordlessly handing Chiharu-chan over to Kichirō-kun. He gave her a rueful smile in return and watched in silence as she disappeared off behind Kichirō-kun.

"I must bathe and change, Amagiri," Saitō said quietly, once the others had gone.

"I agree. You look and smell like a slaughterhouse. And you are injured, as is Chiharu-sama. Do not worry, Akio-san is looking after the baths as we speak, and I am certain that your wife will want to look after your injury herself. Come to my room—it is right by the kitchens, after all, and your own medic is waiting for you."

Saitō nodded. He had wondered where Yamazaki was.

In Amagiri's room, Saitō gratefully stripped out of all of his blood- and sweat-soaked clothing. He valued his modesty, but not above practicality. Yamazaki's eyes had opened wide upon taking in his appearance, and both Amagiri and Yamazaki had waited for him to wash his face, neck, arms and hands, and change into a clean pair of hakama, before Yamazaki had examined his knife wound and Amagiri had asked to hear a summary of the morning's events.

"Has Yamazaki-kun had an opportunity to examine _your_ injuries, Amagiri?" Saitō asked bluntly, after Yamazaki had cleaned and examined the gash on his ribs.

"He will do so after he's seen to Chiharu-sama," Amagiri told him.

Yamazaki coolly ignored Amagiri's statement. "There is little I can do with your injury, Saitō-san. It does not need stitches, because the cut itself has closed. However, I sense an almost feverish heat in it. I think—and I may be incorrect—that what you need is rest. Do you know what prevents it from healing?"

"Magic," said Saitō, more or less truthfully.

"Actually, I can assist you with that part," said Amagiri unexpectedly. "Unlike Sen-hime and Chiharu-sama, I did not push myself beyond all reasonable bounds this morning."

"We will wait for Chizuru to join us," Saitō told him neutrally. He had been sitting on Amagiri's bed for Yamazaki's examination, but now he took up his favourite kneeling position on the floor and gestured for Amagiri to sit on the bed. "Yamazaki-kun, I appreciate all your help here, however, I need to speak with Amagiri about certain personal matters. I believe that Chiharu-sama will be ready to receive you now. I will direct you."

Once Yamazaki was gone, Saitō didn't waste any time. He had only explained to Yamazaki that Sen-hime had gone to visit a vassal whom she suspected of traitorous dealing, and that the visit had resulted in a pitched battle that ended with the vassal and her principal accomplice—her brother—dead. Yamazaki had accepted what he was told, knowing that he would likely hear more later from either Saitō-san or Hijikata-san.

"I didn't kill Yukishima-sama or her brother," Saitō said, resettling himself. "Although, to be perfectly accurate, Yukishima Masaru was killed in battle by Harada and I working together. Also, I would have killed Yukishima Chiyoko-sama, but Sen-hime and Hideo-sama prevented me."

Amagiri's expression and emotions remained closed off, although he nodded for Saitō to continue.

"Sen-hime pronounced a death sentence on Yukishima Chiyoko-sama, and Hideo-sama acted as her agent and executioner. I am sorry to tell you that your uncle died as well; he told me that it was the only way to save Chikame-sama from dying along with her mother."

The red-haired Oni might have been a block of granite for all of his reaction to Saitō's news or the mention of Chikame's name.

"The main reason for the… battle… was that Sen-hime demanded to see Chikame-sama. Eventually, Chikame-sama was brought to the room by her uncle—Yukishima Masaru—but it was evident that something was badly wrong. After she fainted, both Yukishima Chiyoko-sama and her brother attacked Sen."

"That is nearly unbelievable."

"Based on what I saw and experienced," Saitō said bluntly, meeting and holding Amagiri's eyes, "the lady of the clan was insane, her brother was employing the darkest and most brutal of magic and coercion, and there was _nothing_ that Sen-hime could have done differently other than take more warriors with her to secure her safety. Kyūju-san, you may not _wish_ to believe it, but you _must_. They were creating _rasetsu_. They had converted most or all of their servants and guards before we arrived."

"… That cannot be. They would not."

"Then see for yourself," Saitō snapped, his patience abruptly gone. He hoped that it was the residual effect of the difficult morning and having spent too long in his Oni form. "See for yourself and see also your uncle's final moments. I doubt that I will ever forget them. Then you can hear the rest and _then_ I am going to bathe."

Without another word, he projected the whole awful scene into Amagiri's mind: the seemingly endless fury guards, Hideo-sama's cruel-but-necessary manipulation—using Amagiri's own connection to Saitō to gain access, no less—the end of Chiharu-sama's valiant battle, Sen-hime's desperate defence again Yukishima-sama, Chikame-sama's body in a crumpled heap on the floor, Masaru's decapitation, and finally Hideo-sama's horrible execution of his wife followed by his own relatively peaceful death.

"They're all dead, Kyūju-san. Not just the traitors, not just the warriors, but the servants, too. Every part-Oni on the estate. I had to kill them all; they had made them furies and they controlled them to the bitter end. It was worse than anything I have ever seen. Kichirō-kun will never forget the sight of the trail I left, I am certain of that. Neither of us will forget Chikame-sama begging Sen-hime for death."

Amagiri raised a hand in a wordless request for Saitō to stop.

"I can't," Saitō told him. "There is more you must know. Yukishima Masaru had married; were you aware of that?"

"… I heard… a rumour, no more. Is that true as well?"

"Yes. I am told that Yukishima Amagiri Akane-san is the daughter of your youngest uncle. A part-Oni. She was given at a young age to Yukishima Masaru as his bride and bore him twins. Akane-san and her children are presently with Sen-hime and Kimigiku-san. They appear to be the only survivors of the Yukishima clan, with the exception of Kimigiku-san, Chikame-san, and Mamoru-kun."

Amagiri's eyes were closed. He was far less controlled now, and Saitō sensed a wide range of emotions, from shock to near-despair. Saitō found it ironic that he was using the lesson he'd been taught by Amagiri's uncle on mental shock tactics on Amagiri.

"Is there anything else? How does Sen-hime propose to arrange things now?" Amagiri's voice was low, and not quite steady.

"Sen-hime revoked Kimigiku-san's exile, based on the evident treachery of the one who had exiled her. Kimigiku-san has now fully accepted leadership of the clan."

"She wears the four-pointed crown?" Amagiri looked momentarily surprised, rather than beleaguered.

" _Aa_. She cannot be forced to marry, but Sen-hime will accept a reasonable Heir of Kimigiku-san's choice—either one of the Shiranui girl-children by adoption, if Chizuru can heal them and their clan accepts—or her brother, if he becomes more rational. Who knows? Her cousin, the daughter of her mother's brother, may yet survive the Trials. Sen-hime and Kimigiku-san say that both mother and children are powerful, for part-Oni."

"… _Saitō_ … That would be—"

"No different than what has happened to me, except that Yukishima Michi-san has evidently been well-trained with her Gifts as they have developed." Saitō could sense Chizuru and Yamazaki approaching. "Kyūju-san… You have given me good advice. In return, I advise you to consider well before you decide to avoid Chikame-sama. It has been plain to me for some time that there was a breach. Knowing you, I have assumed that it was serious. But whatever happened ten years ago between you must be reevaluated through the lens of present knowledge. Also, I have given my word to stand by the Yukishima and Kimigiku-san."

Amagiri's sky blue eyes were hard and flat as he tried to process Saitō's comments; however, he saw the same steel in Saitō's expression that he had seen once before. The man might be younger, slighter and far less experienced as an Oni—but he was Amagiri's lord, by Amagiri's own declaration.

" _Shitsurei shimasu_ ," called Chizuru's soft voice.

" _Dozo_ ," replied Amagiri, when Saitō said nothing. "Enter."

Both Chizuru and Yamazaki stopped just inside the door, sensing the tension. Then Saitō rose.

"Yamazaki-kun, how is Chiharu-sama?"

"She is asleep, _taichō_. There is not much I can do for her injury, although I was able to clean it more thoroughly than Yukimura-san and that seemed to help somewhat."

"Yamazaki-san was very helpful," Chizuru said firmly. "It turned out that there were tiny—really tiny—fragments in the wound that I couldn't see. Yamazaki-san found and removed them with the assistance of a magnifying glass and Chiharu-chan was _much_ better after that."

Yamazaki shrugged uncomfortably.

"That does not surprise me," Saitō said. "Very well, Yamazaki-kun. You and Chizuru will examine Amagiri's wounds together and she will explain the difficulty with the healing."

"You won't remain, Saitō-san?" The shinobi was surprised.

"I won't be far away," was the cryptic response. Saitō nodded to everyone and left, his hand briefly touching Chizuru's shoulder on the way by.

Chizuru was still trying to understand Amagiri's unusual stress, but even as Saitō-san closed the door behind him she felt Amagiri's calm return. With deft hands—she really was becoming quicker and less clumsy, she thought—she removed Amagiri's jacket from around his shoulders. Seeing that he was going to have little choice but to submit, Amagiri allowed Chizuru to expose the worst of the injuries—the deep cuts on the torso and, of course, the right arm.

There was the smallest of reactions from Yamazaki-kun, as the missing hand and severe scarring shocked even the stoic Shinsengumi medic, and then he began his examination. When he was done, he was frowning slightly.

"This is similar to Saitō-san's and Kazama-sama's wounds, but more severe." Yamazaki still found it strange that he had been asked to attend on the sister of the man who currently figured at or near the top of the Shinsengumi's "enemy" list. He supposed that there were reasons, however. He had tried to ignore how pretty she was, but it had been difficult, especially since she had helped him the night before.

"Yes, that makes sense," said Chizuru. Yamazaki dragged his thoughts back to the present. It occurred to him that these women—including Yukimura-san—might have a greater impact on the Shinsengumi officers because of the shared Oni heritage. It was something to consider later.

Since Yukimura-san was waiting for him, he cleared his throat and continued:

"The difficulty is that I am not familiar with how Oni regenerate. Although I have some limited experience with the concept of regeneration"—he caught Amagiri's cynical expression and realized that the furies were not the secret that they should be—"I don't have others' knowledge at a fundamental level. I am not a doctor, merely a warrior and field medic."

"I was hoping," Chizuru said diffidently, "that you might be able to help me set the bones better in the forearm. You know the anatomy far better than I do, Yamazaki-san."

Yamazaki considered her point and then nodded reluctantly.

"Possibly. But as I understand it, true regeneration will resolve such a problem without requiring the bones to be re-broken and then set. These wounds are deep—I will admit that the blow to the chest appears mortal—and I do not wish to reopen them. Nor can I do anything with respect to the missing hand. I have noticed in others with significant injuries and illnesses that the mental state of the patient can often affect recovery."

Amagiri had been studying Yamazaki throughout his discussion with Chizuru.

"Since you are here, I assume that you are in the confidence of Hijikata-san," he commented.

Yamazaki looked at him, but didn't speak.

"If, in the future, Hijikata-san and Saitō request it, I would be willing to assist with your training, Yamazaki-san. It may benefit you."

This time, Yamazaki looked startled, but he hid his reaction with a short bow.

"Thank you for your offer, Amagiri-san. I will tell the Vice Commander and Saitō-san."

"I believe that we are done here, Yukimura-sama," Amagiri said to the brown-eyed young woman, who was watching them with unfeigned interest. "You will be wishing to look after your husband. You know that he is not quite as well as he appears?"

Chizuru nodded.

"Of course," Amagiri nodded. "Forgive my impertinence."

"O-oh. Not at all, Amagiri-san. I will show Yamazaki-san out, then. Good afternoon."

Appropriate—which is to say brief—farewells were said, and then Chizuru walked Yamazaki to the front door. Saitō was waiting for them not far down the corridor, arms crossed over his bare chest.

"We will talk later, Yamazaki-kun," he said briefly.

" _Hai_." Yamazaki bowed. "Ah—captain?"

"Yes?"

"Congratulations on your marriage, sir. And to you, Yukimura-san."

It was hardly a matter for embarrassment, and yet all three of them reddened slightly. Saitō managed a slight smile, however (which may have unnerved Yamazaki further, it was hard to say).

" _Arigatou gozaimasu_ , Yamazaki-kun," Saitō replied. "Until later, then."

When the door closed behind Yamazaki, Saitō turned to his wife.

"I am looking forward to being clean."

"Yes. It seems unfair that you have had to wait so long."

Saitō shrugged, and then reddened again. "You will… join me?"

Chizuru looked taken aback for a moment, and then she blushed even more than Saitō.

"Of course, Hajime." She was embarrassed and ridiculously pleased at the same time.

Saitō took her hand. Of all of his concerns about returning to his duties with the Shinsengumi, this was—for no good reason—his greatest. He still couldn't seem to look at his wife for any great length of time without wanting to make love to her. And the more that Chizuru made it clear that she wanted to be with him—that she wanted him—the worse it was. All that being said, he wasn't going to waste the last two or three hours of privacy that they had. He had no illusions about what it would be like in the confines of Yagi House.

Hand-in-hand, they walked down to the room adjoining the bathroom, and Saitō finally—finally!—pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair and letting her scent blot out some of the morning's memories. After a minute or two, he realized that he was probably getting traces of blood and sweat on her clothes and stepped back slightly. Gravely, he undressed her down to her short white under-kimono and then had her turn so that he could untie her hair without pulling at it.

By the time that he was done, he could hear the change in his breathing and heartbeat, and hers. He ran his fingers through her hair, gentle with the tangles, the pain of the cut on his right side forgotten. Finally, he had her face him again, and the sight of her bare skin where the under-kimono hung open, beltless, made him swallow and then draw her against his own bare chest, hands running along her sides and up her back, lips finding hers.

Chizuru closed her eyes, flushed but less embarrassed than she had been. There was something comforting, as well as intoxicating, in the way that he admired her body. She was grateful that he didn't try to hide it now—at least, not in private—the way he hid other things. She became conscious of the way that she could feel the effect of his touch, his kisses in every part of her body.

"Your hair…" she murmured into his hungry mouth, while his fingers traced lines of warmth and desire on her skin. She liked seeing him with his hair down.

Saitō picked her up, surprising her. She gasped aloud when his lips found her breast. He seemed to have no difficulty with her weight, but she snugged her legs around his waist and hips anyway.

"You untie it," he told her, pausing only briefly with what he was doing.

It wasn't easy to concentrate, since he had quickly learned how much she enjoyed his mouth on her breasts, whether lips, tongue or teeth. After a minute or two, though, she had unknotted and unbound the white cord confining his hair, so that it hung down around his face and over his shoulders in a fall of deep purple-blue.

"You… have… such nice… hair," she managed to tell him, although she was trembling slightly now, and she could feel the growing tightness in her muscles, especially in her abdomen and pelvis. She could feel lust starting to completely override reason for both of them—if it hadn't already—and found herself wishing that he were touching her more intimately, or, even better, that he were within her. It was a curiously abandoned feeling, yet surprisingly free of shame.

"Bathe… afterward…" her husband agreed, replying to her unspoken thoughts. " _Gods… what you do to me…_ " His words sounded like something between a prayer and oddly bewildered distress.

He knelt in a single, still-controlled motion, and laid her down on the mat, her under-kimono partly beneath her from where it had fallen a short time earlier. While she watched from under half-closed lids, he stripped out of his hakama and undergarment, and then knelt again, hands caressing her hips, her belly and finally lower. His mouth formed a self-mocking, twisted half-smile.

"I am sorry… Chizuru... "

She hummed her happiness when he was finally within her, telling him without words, _again_ , to stop apologizing. She understood his need to escape from the morning's insanity—not so much the killing, but the horror of literal madness and lives destroyed. There was just a moment to enjoy the sensation of being joined together, and then she felt teeth close on her shoulder and strong hands tighten around her hips, pulling her so close that it was as though he was trying to drive himself into her very center. She wasn't surprised when the dark blue of his eyes flickered to gold and the cascading hair turned white. The teeth on her shoulder drew blood, but the pain was negligible, lost among sensations that were imprinted on mind as well as body. Letting those feelings and her lover's rapidly increasing motion take hold of her completely, she whispered his name, knowing that he would hear it: " _Hajime._ "

They were done very quickly, and after the first few moments of shuddering, slowly subsiding pleasure, Chizuru sensed the distress from Saitō that she had known to expect after such a frantic coupling. They had not been married long, but neither had it taken her long to realize that he hated feeling that he had rushed her, or used her in some way to meet his own needs. In fact, she suspected that he disliked admitting to needs at all. But mostly it was his fear that he had hurt her in some way or not returned some measure of what he'd taken. Chizuru found it strangely unlike his usual, practical self.

She tightened her arms around his waist, preventing him from moving away from her.

"I think I can bear your weight, you know," she said softly, a little surprised at her daring, but determined.

After a moment's pause, she won her point, and he carefully settled onto her, still breathing a little faster than usual, face averted and hidden by his long hair. Even within the confines of her arms, he arranged himself so that he could take some of the weight of his own body.

"Hajime, I _like_ what we do together. I always do. You know it's true, because you can read my mind. One day…" Chizuru had to hurry so that she didn't get totally embarrassed. "…One day I want to learn more about what you like and, and maybe touch you the way that you touch me."

Utterly without Saitō's conscious volition, a clear image told her exactly what he was curious about. Chizuru blushed deeply, and she didn't even have to look to know that his face was just as red. Despite all that, she pushed some of his hair away from his eyes and told him, very seriously: "If you desire it, then I don't mind. I can try. Promise to at least let me try."

"It is… not right." His thoughts were unusually opaque to her, most likely out of embarrassment.

After a minute or two with no further response, and unwilling to force him into a promise that he clearly didn't want to give, Chizuru settled for a gentle hug, all the better for the weight of his body against hers.

"Shall we bathe?" she suggested, hoping to overcome his silence. "I'm sorry I made things worse instead of better."

"Īe—no, you did nothing wrong. Just give me a moment to think."

Saitō untangled himself carefully from her and stood up, lifting her into his arms. He opened the door to the bathroom, settled Chizuru into the nice deep bath that had been prepared, ensured that there was soap and cloth, and slipped into the water himself. Once they were both seated, he visibly relaxed, and one side of his mouth quirked into a smile.

"I have wanted to do this with you for… quite a while."

"You have?" Chizuru said blankly.

"Yes. Regrettably often, I'm afraid."

"And?" Chizuru couldn't help but ask.

"You are as beautiful I as expected. And very distracting." Saitō closed his eyes briefly, as if to will his thoughts not to stray. "It does not really make sense," he added, in a lower, softer voice, as if continuing a different conversation. "I am not quite… ready… to accept how freely you give yourself to me, Chizuru."

He moved closer to Chizuru and took her hands, as if hoping that would help her understand. He continued:

"On days like today, I feel selfish, as though I have no more self-control than any other man... which is difficult to accept. And I know that a wife's duty is to submit gracefully when she is wanted. But I do not want it to be like that with you. I don't want you to dread me or be indifferent to me. I have seen… better than that... But as much as I want to be patient, sometimes I cannot quite manage it. It is discouraging."

Chizuru began to protest, but she was silenced with a kiss. She also discovered that she was now sitting across Saitō's lap, with his arms tightening around her. She found herself leaning further into the kiss, and then twisting slightly in order to return it with greater fervour.

 _You see? I know you are telling the truth, dear one. I know your skin wants my touch. I can feel your body long for mine. I just… cannot quite believe it. Or live up to it._

Chizuru broke the kiss in order to breathe. She tried not to be too pleased that her so-self-contained husband was obviously reacting to her. The flush high on his cheeks had little to do with the hot water.

"It doesn't seem very complicated to me," she said, running her hand across his chest with a certain reckless disregard for how she _should_ behave.

"I know. That is part of what I worry about."

"I wish you wouldn't."

"Chizuru… I am doing my best. But I never expected to be in this situation and… I find that I do not want to be like almost every other man out there."

"Then tell me why I mustn't learn to please you, when I can tell that you worry about pleasing me."

Saitō dropped his head against her shoulder with an apparently genuine groan. "… I can't win."

Chizuru's boldness faded all at once, leaving embarrassment in its place.

"I'm sorry, Hajime. I'll stop asking. Maybe, if you wouldn't mind, I could help you wash? I know you had an awful morning."

A strong hand lifted her chin, and rueful blue eyes looked down into her brown ones.

"No more apologies today between us. Agreed?"

"O-ok?"

"How is my injury doing? It has felt slightly fevered for the last two hours."

Chizuru accepted the change in subject.

"You will have to sit on the ledge so that I can see it."

Saitō inclined his head, trying not to smile as she tucked her hair behind her ears, and examined the short slash over his ribs. She had a tendency to bite her bottom lip when she was being especially serious. She had lovely breasts.

"Well, it's much better than I thought it would be," Chizuru said, sounding surprised. "And I don't see any trace of redness. Does it still hurt?"

"Not really. But then, I have you."

"But I didn't _do_ anything!"

Straight-faced with an extreme effort, Saitō slipped back into the bath and took his wife's hands.

"…I'll try not to take that the wrong way."

"What?"

"Never mind. Here, let me help you wash."

Getting clean was mutually satisfying, although not at all efficient. Saitō concluded without regret that his imagination had not misled him with respect to the benefits of bathing with Chizuru. Chizuru, on the other hand, was deeply content but also tired and decidedly wobbly-legged. Fortunately, it took very little time for her husband to carry her to their bedroom and tuck her into bed. While she slept, he contemplated their return to the Shinsengumi.

* * *

 **[III] - Kazama's Cub Meets the Wolves of Mibu**

* * *

Kichirō had been wary of the man who had examined his sister's wound. However, Chizuru-sama's presence had helped a great deal, and the man appeared to be competent, although very reserved. Also, Yamazaki-san reminded Kichirō of the part-Oni craftsmen who lived on the Kazama estate located in Satsuma _han_ , although purple eyes were only rarely seen in the descendants of the Western clans, who tended more toward blue and sometime blue-green eyes. When the medic's intervention had produced a material improvement in Haru-chan's condition, Kichirō began to be even more enthusiastic about the idea of visiting the Shinsengumi's headquarters: it was clear that Hijikata-san had gathered together an exceptional group of part-Oni.

With the optimism of both age and temperament, Kichirō was starting to recover a little from the morning's strange and frightening experiences. He had not actually been hurt, after all—Hijikata-san had helped him to defeat his strange opponents. In fact, thinking about it, he hadn't properly thanked the Shinsengumi Vice Commander for his assistance. Also, Hijikata-san had mentioned that Nagakura-san as an excellent swordsman, but Kichirō hadn't had much opportunity to speak with him. He was also hoping to meet Sōji-san and Heisuke-san—although he worried that those were first names rather than last names as was proper.

Time passed very slowly, once Haru-chan fell asleep. He considered practising in the dojo, but it held little appeal after the day's excitement. Haru-chan had forbidden him from bothering Saitō-sama or Chizuru-sama that afternoon; however, as the afternoon wore on, it occurred to him that she hadn't forbidden him from going out for a walk. The more practical part of him immediately insisted that this was a bad idea. It was strangely liberating, though, to realize that Sen-hime and Kimigiku-san—or rather, Yukishima Kimiko-sama—were busy in Yase, his elder sister was deeply asleep, and Amagiri had specifically refused to admit Kichirō to his room (the day before, admittedly, but Amagiri had not appeared to be in a welcoming mood earlier today either).

The idea having taken hold of his restless mind, Kichirō changed into his travel clothes, which had been cleaned but were deliberately nondescript, retied his hair into a slightly-less-sloppy-than-usual ponytail, and picked up his sword. The latter action made him wince. He hadn't cleaned the sword since fighting the red-eyed _quasi_ -Oni at the Yukishima estate. Conscious that he was hoping to speak with swordmasters, and under no illusions as to what somebody like Saitō-sama would think of a bloodied sword resting uncleaned in its sheath in the heat and humidity of summer, he hurriedly corrected his oversight. When the quiet of the house still remained unbroken, and nobody came to dissuade him from his plan, he stole quietly out the front door, walked briskly down the lane, and then ran the rest of the way to the main thoroughfares of Kyoto.

The crowd and noise were rather appalling, now that he wasn't escorting noble palanquins under the protection of somebody with Saitō-sama's "don't-come-closer" presence and expression. On the other hand, nobody paid attention to him at all, which wasn't a bad thing under the circumstances. Greatly daring, he bought himself some dango to eat, and even flirted shyly with the girl helping her mother behind the counter. It was all very exciting. Nobody commented on his red eyes and blond hair, so presumably his mediocre illusion was holding.

He lost focus a little while he was eating his dango, because the dark-haired shop-girl had reminded him a little of Yukishima Michi-san. Not that he was interested in a twelve-year-old girl, of course, but she had been extremely pretty, with a fine-boned face, long silky-looking black hair and lovely purple eyes. Since he wasn't interested in her, he proceeded to walk the entire length of the street wondering whether he might have the opportunity to meet her again. He hadn't actually been able to speak to her, under the rather difficult circumstances of her father's and aunt's deaths. Come to think of it, her mother was Amagiri's first cousin. He wondered if—

"Stop and show us your papers, boy!" a harsh voice suddenly demanded.

Looking up, Kichirō discovered that his daydreaming had cost him dearly. While the street seemed suddenly empty compared to just a few minutes before, the group of men in blue Shinsengumi _haori_ seemed to have no difficulty filling the space. One of the patrolmen was standing in front of him now, his hand on his sword-hilt.

"What've you got?" ask a lighter, slightly friendlier voice.

A second man joined the first, and Kichirō was surprised to see that the newcomer was shorter and slighter than he was himself, and didn't look very much older. The bigger warrior answered him immediately, however.

"Newcomer, I'd say, Tōdō- _taichō_ , up from the south by his clothes. Seemed to be sightseeing… or something."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," the Shinsengumi captain replied, walking a slow circle around Kichirō. "What's your name, kid?"

Kichirō had to grip his teeth together so as not to react as his brother would have done, with a cool announcement of his name—if that—and a warning hand on the hilt of his sword. He didn't think that it would go as well for him as it would for Chikage-sama, who was a full adult and the Lord of the Western Clans besides. Then something clicked in his brain, and he forced his face into a more polite expression and bowed.

"Excuse me, but are you Tōdō Heisuke _-taichō_?" Kichirō bowed slightly. "I am Kichirō. I had the honour of meeting Harada- _taichō_ and Nagakura- _taichō_ this morning, and they mentioned your name. I was hoping to make your acquaintance."

Kichirō's heart began to beat a little faster. He had managed to gain the attention of the better part of the squad now, and it was a somewhat alarming feeling. More importantly, the young captain had fixed him with sharp blue-green eyes, and Kichirō realized with a sinking feeling that Tōdō-san was a part-Oni with cause to remember his older brother. After all, Hijikata-san had told him that Tōdō-san had been at the Ikedaya with Amagiri and Chikage-sama. At the thought, his felt his illusion waver and saw the captain's eyes go wide with sudden recognition.

"You?!"

Tōdō-san's sword flicked out with surprising speed. His squad followed suit, expressions grim. Kichirō suddenly wished that Hijikata-san would show up again—or even Saitō-sama. Just then, there was a hail from further along the street. Tōdō-san smiled, but not in a way that suggested any benefit to Kichirō.

"Sōji!" he shouted back, his sword still held unwaveringly in front of him. "You'll never guess who decided to come back for a visit!"

* * *

[END]

* * *

 **A/Note:** And still so much more to come! Wish Kichirō luck as he gets his wish to meet Heisuke and Sōji—and bites off just a bit more than he can chew. Also next chapter: Amagiri and Chikame; return to the Shinsengumi; first drums of war.

 **Thank you for reading!** As always, favourites, follows and reviews are much appreciated.


	5. Lovers in a Dangerous Time, Part II

**Author's Note:**

With apologies for the unexpected wait - life and a "troubled" computer got in the way.

Thank you to all my readers for your patience and continued support. Thank you especially to **HakuSaitosan on AO3** for making me laugh and enjoy my own story all over again as well as to many kind readers on FFN who sent in reviews over the 3-week (unplanned) hiatus:

 **LadyYomi** (welcome! thank you for taking the time to try reading this story!  
 **PoivronRouge  
** **Sabina-san  
14Phantom  
thePatriarchListens** (that was possibly the most backhanded compliment I've gotten so far... hmm... "now if you can only stay focused we might finally get to see the showdown with Kazama Chikage! :)" (to be fair, it's perfectly true, although the computer problem this time was beyond my control) (grin)  
 **Eliz1369** (thank you for the one-year congrats! ~ I have slightly mixed feeling about this though ~ 450,000 words now!)  
 **DancesWithSeatbelts**  
 **Shell1331**

 **Now, as for this chapter,** you'll see a bit of almost everyone, but especially Hijikata in the first half and Saitou  & Chizuru in the second half (with an important cameo by Souji, because he is known for being a cute little cupid-in-disguise... well, maybe not).

 **Also: the second part of the second half of this chapter is rated M.** You can read it in full on FFN under _Teachings of Demons (M)_ or on AO3.

I hope everyone enjoys the "return" of The Teachings of Demons! Comments and reviews are much appreciated. :)

~ **ImpracticalOni**

* * *

 **The Night Belongs to Lovers, Part II**

* * *

 **[I]—The Vice Commander, The Spy, and Other Assorted Characters  
 _A Play in Two Acts_**

* * *

Nobody was quite certain whether it was by design or accident that Hijikata met Saitō, Chizuru and Harada on their way back to the compound. Saitō and Harada assumed that it wasn't coincidental; the Vice Commander didn't say anything one way or the other. In fact, their superior officer was annoyed, because he wasn't sure exactly what had prompted him to come this way in the first place, and he didn't like not knowing things—especially recently, when all coincidences seemed to lead inexorably back to the damn Oni.

"Everything go okay?" Hijikata asked, his eyes sweeping the expressionless faces of his subordinates. The fact that Harada was as closed off as Saitō automatically worried him.

" _Aa_." Saitō responded economically.

"I was just visiting," answered Harada. "But I believe that Saitō's pupils found their lesson _satisfactory_."

Hijikata's lips twitched a little at Harada's use of Saitō's favourite word.

"Kichirō-kun has natural aptitude," Saitō said calmly. "Chiharu-sama is not as strong, but she is quick, disciplined and she works hard. They are both good students." He paused as though assessing something. "Chiharu-sama improved noticeably over the course of one lesson, both in practical technique and power."

"That's unusual," noted Hijikata. He normally wouldn't bother to comment, but Saitō rarely mentioned something unless it was important somehow. "What was she like to begin with?"

"Competent technically, but clearly inexperienced in actual combat. Her elder brother no longer teaches her; however, she continues to train with Kichirō-kun whenever possible. I believe that she truly formed her resolve to become stronger—as a warrior—since being required to defend Princess Sen recently."

When Saitō stopped there, apparently unwilling to voice his conclusions regarding Chiharu's surprising improvement over the course of an hour's training, Hijikata glanced at Harada. The spearman shrugged; he somehow managed to convey the sense that if Saitō wasn't going to comment then neither was he. Exasperated, Hijikata tucked his hands further into his sleeves and frowned at them.

"You think that she may be—somehow— _imagining_ herself stronger and it's working?" He couldn't keep a note of doubt out of his voice.

"If what we have been told by Sen-hime and Amagiri is true, then belief is as important as anything else for the Oni." Saitō's voice was as flat as ever.

"It'd have to be an awfully strong belief though," Harada mused. "More like a certainty—that feeling when you just _know_ you're right…" He trailed off when it occurred to him to wonder why he was stating a guess as if it were fact.

All three men—even Saitō—were slightly startled when a timid voice said softly: "Haru-chan wants the female Oni to stop being so much weaker than the male Oni." Chizuru hesitated when she realized that she suddenly had everyone's attention. "I-I think that meeting Suzuka Gozen kind of"—Chizuru waved her hands in the air—" _reinforced_ things she was already thinking. From what she explained to Osen-chan, Lady Suzuka pretty much said that she—Haru-chan—could do whatever she set her mind to."

Hijikata cleared his throat (rather ominously, in Chizuru's opinion). "I keep forgetting that we're dealing with myths and legends. I mean, _of course_ the legendary demoness of Yase just happened to drop in for tea to give her descendant—or fellow demoness or whatever—a lecture on how to be tougher like in the _good old days_."

Saitō was about to interpose—with what, he wasn't sure—when Chizuru surprised him by nodding vigorously, her ponytail bobbing slightly with the motion. Although she found the Vice Commander intimidating, concern for others always made her stubborn.

"Yes, Hijikata-san, that's exactly what happened. According to Haru-chan, Lady Suzuka showed up and pretty much _made_ Haru-chan have tea with her. And after that she came straight to Kyoto! So I agree with Saitō-san: Haru-chan is _very_ determined to become stronger. She was quite upset about not being able to protect Osen-chan better—although obviously she did very well, because Sai-Hajime says so."

Saitō had to repress the urge to bury his face in his hands. He couldn't look at Harada; he suspected the man was laughing at him.

Hijikata just stood there, staring at Chizuru. Then he shook his head briskly. "Fine. Do we know what this bloodthirsty young woman plans to do next?"

This time, Saitō gripped Chizuru's shoulder before she could defend her friend and irritate Hijikata-san further. "Vice Commander: Chiharu-sama's greatest concern right now is her youngest brother—foster brother, that is."

"Amagiri-san's son? Yes, that makes sense. But given that her _elder_ brother seems to be an arrogant prick and most definitely _not_ a friend to any of us right now, what exactly can she do? More importantly, is she going to be a threat to us later if we help her get stronger now? What happens when she goes home?"

Saitō's hand tightened further on Chizuru's shoulder and she bit her lip. She had suddenly remembered the Shinsengumi's solution for those whom they couldn't trust and couldn't otherwise neutralize. Then it occurred to her to find it strange that Hijikata-san was suddenly so wary of Haru-chan when he had accepted her request for training in the first place. Surely Hajime's general comments about her skills hadn't been as troubling as all that? And it was terribly unfair to call Haru-chan "bloodthirsty". Just as she was wondering how to get Hajime's attention, she saw him exchange a flickering glance with Harada-san and then—

Suddenly, Saitō-san was a blur of motion a hundred feet away and Harada-san was at her side with his sword drawn. They must have sensed something wrong before she did, she thought numbly. She'd been preoccupied, though. She felt a great deal of sympathy for Hijikata-san, who had drawn his sword with something like resignation, his eyes scanning their immediate surroundings.

"Same guy?"

"I hope so. It'd suck if there's more than one of them." Harada smiled reassuringly at Chizuru. "Don't worry, Chizuru-chan. Saitō'll be fine. Not sure I can say the same for the other guy though." Chizuru stared at him blankly and it suddenly occurred to him that "the other guy" might be her long-lost twin brother, based on what he'd been told earlier in the evening.

"No such luck. Gods _dammit_!" Hijikata slammed his katana back into its sheath. Saitō had emerged—noticeably empty-handed—from between two buildings a long ways down the road.

"So you knew there was a problem?" Harada asked the Vice Commander curiously. "I wasn't sure…"

Hijikata scowled. "Well, I'm a suspicious bastard and it didn't seem normal for us to be having an important discussion right in the middle of the street like this. I may have to learn some of Amagiri-san's mind tricks. It pisses me off to have to spend time on all this Oni crap, but I sure as hell don't want somebody fucking with my head like that again. That reminds me: I still have to get the Princess to make sure Sōji's okay." When Harada didn't comment, he added (rather inevitably, in Harada's opinion): "Been wanting somebody to examine that kid's head for _years_."

Saitō rejoined them, moving more or less normally. His eyes were brilliant gold, which looked distinctly eerie in the dim light. Harada stepped carefully away from Chizuru, trying not to be annoyed with both Saitō and his own instinctive reaction to the man's aura. It was easier to relate to Saitō now, though. Harada could feel himself being sucked into the same maelstrom of conflicting wants, needs, duties and priorities. For example, he hadn't had the energy to remind—or was it tell?—Hijikata-san that the "legendary demoness of Yase" was allegedly his own mother. And he sure as hell didn't want to bring up Satoshi's comments about Kazama and Sen.

"Thank you for alerting me," Saitō said to Harada, placing his hand on Chizuru's shoulder. The brilliant eyes were suddenly dark again.

Harada still found it strange to see Saitō touch anyone so often, even his wife—Saitō had never been one for close physical contact. He was tolerant of his colleagues' roughhousing, but he never participated. In fact, he and Sōji were alike that way. Saitō was quiet and Sōji was brash, but they both discouraged the kind of casual contact that was the norm among everyone else.

Saitō had turned to Hijikata. "I was just becoming aware of the spy when Harada gave me the man's location. I almost caught him, but he is gifted at masking himself and he clearly sensed something amiss the moment I moved. _Sumimasen._ "

Harada saw Hijikata-san give him a curious look when Saitō mentioned that Harada had picked up the man's location first. He rubbed at the back of his neck self-consciously and wondered if he were actually developing stronger abilities or just getting better at using what was at his disposal. Of course, according to Kimigiku-san and others, he shouldn't be able to do any of it without training.

"Get back to headquarters," Hijikata was telling Saitō and Chizuru. "Harada, we'll take a stroll back to your girlfriend's and warn her that we still have a problem. This is getting seriously annoying and I don't want this guy fucking with the Shinsengumi without fighting back. He could do real damage if he decides to play games with our patrols."

"There is one other thing, Vice Commander," put in Saitō at this point. He felt Chizuru stiffen under his fingers, but she relaxed again when he didn't raise the matter of her possibly not-quite-deceased twin. "I saw Takeda-san on his way back to the compound in the brief time that I was scanning our immediate surroundings from a nearby rooftop."

There was a short silence. "I really, really don't like that guy," Harada muttered. He was still trying to decide how he felt about Hijikata-san referring to Osen-chan as his "girlfriend". Although she kind of was, he conceded. More than kind of. Actually, he'd asked Hijikata-san's permission to visit Sen this evening, now that he thought about it. Okay, so he needed to get his head around the whole thing. Satoshi had freaked him out, though; no sense denying it. A sharp mental nudge from Saitō jerked him out of his thoughts, but not fast enough. Hijikata-san was glaring at him, his purple eyes narrowed to angry slits.

"Dammit Harada, Saitō's bad enough—don't go spacing out on me in the middle of the fucking street while you plan your romantic future. I don't care what it takes but get your head out of your ass and back on the job! What the hell did I ever do to deserve you two? Saitō's taking Yukimura home, and I'm betting they have some weird shit to discuss because"—he turned the glare on Saitō—"I can just tell and besides there's always weird shit going on now."

Saitō blinked and Harada winced. He hoped Chizuru-chan was holding up okay.

"Will you want to see me when you return, Vice Commander?" Saitō asked, his voice particularly expressionless.

"Gods no. Good night Saitō, good night Yukimura. Come on Harada, let go pay a social call."

Harada exchanged a look with Saitō, smiled reassuringly at Chizuru-chan, and set off after Hijikata-san. He briefly entertained the idea of Osen-chan using some kind of Oni magic to force the Vice Commander to get some sleep, but decided reluctantly that the cost was too high. _No rest for the wicked_ , he thought wryly to himself. _Guess that applies to both of us._ Maybe Amagiri-san or Chiharu-sama could keep things from blowing up with Sen.

He was a little surprised when Chiharu-sama came out onto the _engawa_ as they approached, still dressed in the hakama in which she had trained. She looked perfectly calm and collected; presumably she had sensed or "seen" them coming, somehow. She opened the door and ushered them inside with a polite " _konbanwa_ " for Hijikata-san and a slightly puzzled smile for Harada. He didn't dare say anything to her, aloud or otherwise, but he saw her eyebrows arch slightly as she took the measure of the Vice Commander's temper.

"My regards to Sen-hime," said the latter brusquely, "and if she's up then I'd like to have a few words with her. Amagiri-san too if he's available."

Chiharu studied him for a moment and then—to Harada's surprise, given that she was practically royalty and an Oni—she bowed politely and showed them into the reception room. There was no trace of subservience in her actions, but no annoyance either, as there surely would have been with Kimigiku-san.

"I will see if Osen-chan is still receiving visitors, Vice Commander Hijikata. In the meantime, would you like tea?"

Harada could only stare at his superior officer in astonishment when the man suddenly relaxed and gave a short huff of laughter. He bowed to Chiharu-sama before taking his seat, his stern face still holding a trace of amusement.

"Thank you, Chiharu-sama, tea would be greatly appreciated."

She looked at him quizzically, taken aback by his sudden change of mood, but apparently neither offended nor seriously disconcerted.

"Did you come all the way here for the tea, Hijikata-san? You seem very pleased by the prospect." She smiled a little as she said it, to indicate that she was in no way underestimating the probable seriousness of their visit.

Harada couldn't help but be impressed with her poise. He wondered, just for a moment—and only because his own thoughts were preoccupied with Sen—whether Hijikata-san noticed how lovely she was. Chances are that he did, but set it aside as being irrelevant to matters at hand.

"I hadn't intended to come here at all, Chiharu-sama," Hijikata said in response to the slightly teasing question. "But for some reason it did occur to me when I originally set out that it would be pleasant to be offered tea. Just one of those coincidences."

Chiharu nodded understandingly. "I'll be back shortly. Harada-san, what about you?"

"Tea's good, Chiharu-sama, thanks. Do you need a hand?"

"Īe. I'll be fine, but thank you for the offer. And Haru-chan is still fine, Harada-san. Excuse me, gentlemen." She left the room briskly.

"Determined young woman," murmured Hijikata thoughtfully. "Looks demure and probably is—to a point. You weren't there when she chewed me out for not taking her seriously. She was right, too. Well, I promised her the training; guess I won't go back on that now."

"Yeah, I kind of wondered about that," Harada replied. "But I figured you had your reasons."

"Probably." Hijikata caught the surprised look on Harada's face and shrugged. "There were reasons. But I think partly I just want to annoy her brother—the older one, not the kid. Haven't met him, but don't like anything I've heard so far."

"Uh, no, me neither." Harada hesitated and then decided to risk a snarky response. "But you seem to be okay with Amagiri-san now? At least… you asked to see him and you sent Yamazaki to help him out."

"He's a smart man—or demon, whatever. He'd be a good ally if we can trust him, and we have no reason not to trust him at the moment. He's offered to train Yamazaki, by the way—think I might take him up on it. Maybe it'll help us catch the damn spy."

Harada shook his head a little. "You know… It sounds like you're not as opposed to dealing with the Oni as you make it sound."

Hijikata crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"I don't _want_ to deal with the Oni. All this crap is pissing me off when I've got more than enough to do without worrying about myths and legends. And I still have no idea what the hell we're going to do about Saitō—or you!—in the long run. Given a choice, I'd skip all the supernatural shit and go back to running a nice _normal_ fighting unit. But you know what they say: pick your poison."

The door slid open to admit Amagiri. Neither of the Shinsengumi officers twitched—they'd both sensed his approach, and in fact Hijikata had spoken his last words just a little more loudly than necessary.

"And I am your poison, Vice Commander Hijikata?" Amagiri asked smoothly, crossing the room to take a seat.

Harada noticed that while Hijikata-san got a polite bow, the big man only nodded in his own direction. It wasn't exactly rude, just… it was as if Amagiri-san was saying "look, first of all, you're the junior officer, and secondly, didn't you just leave?" For some reason, Harada suddenly wondered how things were going with Kimigiku-san's sister. He immediately squelched the thought and buried it deep. He had no illusions about what Amagiri-san could or would do if he made the mistake of accidentally prying.

" _Konbanwa_ , Amagiri-san," Hijikata told the Oni. "Yes, you're my poison of choice. I still haven't figured out why you took such a big risk for Saitō—and yes, I know Sen-hime asked for your help—but you've played fair with us since then. Plus, we're both practical men, as you once told me. I have to trust somebody, it seems."

"I take it that there has been more trouble?" Amagiri ignored Hijikata's various comments, but Harada thought that there was a slight gleam of amusement—or appreciation—in the Oni's sky-blue eyes. "I only returned here a few minutes ago myself."

The door slid open again and Sen entered, followed by Chiharu. Chiharu was carrying a tray.

There was yet another round of greetings as Sen and Chiharu seated themselves. It turned out that Chiharu had already been making tea, which explained her quick return. Harada had wondered whether Hijikata-san would agree to have her present for the discussion, but he either didn't mind or was concealing his annoyance unusually well.

"How may I—and Amagiri-san—be of assistance, Vice Commander Hijikata," Sen asked at last. Harada had felt the briefest touch of her mind on his; otherwise she had kept her thoughts and feelings to herself. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but it definitely made it easier to concentrate.

Hijikata's purple eyes were cool and professional again, and his expression was politely neutral. He sipped at his tea before answering.

"As you know, Sen-hime, there is an unknown Oni spying on the Shinsengumi. Most recently he engineered a well-coordinated attack against two of my officers—although I think Heisuke's presence was unexpected—and he has used some kind of malicious _magic_ "—the word came out dripping acid—"on Yamazaki. Tonight, he seems to have made a rather haphazard attempt to incite conflict between us, but he was clearly prepared to flee at once, which suggests opportunism rather than planned aggression."

"Why is that?" asked Sen. "Would he not have an escape plan either way?"

"Could be," responded Hijikata, "but his planned attacks, both subtle and unsubtle, have been pretty focussed, from what I've gathered. For example, he was not only well-prepared to attack Sōji—Okita—but he had come specifically prepared to deal with Yamazaki—and despite your best efforts, Yamazaki is still not completely safe from whatever happened to him. I thought that you and Chiharu-sama were of the opinion that the magic used against Yamazaki was fairly complex?" When Sen nodded, he concluded: "Anyway, my feeling is that when he plans, he plans long and hard. I don't think he had some great plan to protect tonight, which is why he took off so fast. I hadn't even planned to go out until I did."

"Either way, we have to agree with you that he's dangerous," Sen said with a tiny sigh. "And you're here—quite rightly—because a rogue Oni is my responsibility, especially in Kyoto. Are you aware of his possible identity?"

"As Yukimura's long-lost twin brother? Yes, Saitō told me about that. The whole thing's fantastic, though. I mean, if he just wants to say hi to his sister he could have asked—or at least asked you."

"The difficulty, Vice Commander Hijikata," interjected Amagiri's deep rumble, "is that we are beginning to see some very, very disturbing possible connections between Yukimura Kōdō-sama, the late Lady of the Yukishima and her brother, and the creation of part-Oni _rasetsu_. If your—our—rogue Oni is Yukimura Kaoru then it suggests that he and his uncle may be working together."

Everyone present tensed at the mention of the furies. Hijikata scowled and glared at Amagiri.

"We are not here to discuss that topic," he said flatly.

"It is a problem that affects everyone here," Amagiri responded just as bluntly.

"Then Harada and I are wasting our time—and yours." Hijikata rose swiftly, picking up his scabbarded katana.

Amagiri was on his feet just as fast. " _Matte kudasai_ , Hijikata-san. Your need for our assistance—and your right to request that assistance—have not changed."

Harada hovered behind Hijikata, features set. He hadn't paid quite enough attention lately, it seemed. Or maybe he'd been too preoccupied with personal matters to get his head fully around the bigger implications of the _rasetsu_ at the Yukishima estate. Amagiri's words had startled and dismayed him, since he'd forgotten that Amagiri would probably know, one way or another, about the _rasetsu_ within the Shinsengumi compound.

Sen looked tired and upset, and Chiharu stood slightly in front of her in a way that could only be described as protective. Harada felt a twist of something unpleasant in his gut and realized that it had to do with the fact that he wasn't the one protecting Sen—couldn't be, under the circumstances.

After a long silence, Hijikata assumed a slightly less confrontational pose and drew a deep breath.

"No, the need hasn't changed. But we have reached an impasse."

"Oni do not break their word, Hijikata-san. I offered to train Yamazaki-san and I have not rescinded that offer. Moreover, I need to continue Saitō-sama's training. Harada-san also needs to be taught something about the Gifts that he is already using."

"Satoshi has offered to train Chizuru-chan," Sen added abruptly. Observing Hijikata's expression at the name, Sen managed a rueful smile. "I feel the same way, Hijikata-san, but… he's actually a good teacher. He taught me, in fact, after my mother fell ill. Unfortunately, he has a very annoying personality."

"Osen-chan!" murmured her cousin reprovingly. These part-Oni men deserved respect, but it was improper to criticize an elder and a Prince to them as though they were close family.

Harada had choked at Sen's comment, and even Hijikata had smiled a tiny bit. Only Amagiri's serious expression didn't change.

"Okikurune-sama is probably the best qualified to teach Yukimura-sama," he said simply. "But regardless, you will have the assistance you require, Vice Commander. I did not mean to imply otherwise, only to point out that the probable culprit may be more closely related to—let us say, a difficult topic—than is comfortable for _any_ of us."

Hijikata hesitated. On the one hand, he'd come for a reason and it was still a damn good reason. On the other, his first loyalty lay to the Shinsengumi, and these people were clear in their views on the _ochimizu_. Hell, personally he felt the same way, but that wasn't the point. Only just that evening, Sannan-san had pointed out that the _ochimizu_ —if refined—might be their only viable option against the demons who appeared to be ranged against them. All of the leaders and most of the warriors had heard about the shockingly powerful men who had been able to take down Heisuke and Okita. And some of Harada's division had actually seen Shiranui Kyō show off with his pistol. (Damn Shiranui! Hijikata still held a forlorn hope that maybe they weren't brothers.)

With a muttered oath that was probably inappropriate under the circumstances—Chiharu-sama's presence, for one—Hijikata reseated himself. "Look. There are certain things that I can't and won't discuss with any of you. But right this moment I'm more concerned with how the holy hell I'm supposed to protect my men from a guy who can twist their minds and bodies into knots. Also"—he noted with satisfaction that Sen and Amagiri were sitting again—"I need Yamazaki back. _Also_ , I need to know if Okita Sōji and Tōdō Heisuke have been tampered with in any way."

Harada gave Haru-chan a crooked smile as he sat down again. He knew that his eyes were as wary as hers, but he felt that the _pro tem_ bodyguards should stick together while their "bosses" fought it out over principles and ways and means. Apparently, Chiharu wasn't impervious to his mild joke, since he got a faint smile in return.

"Let's move on then," said Sen, and Harada suddenly hoped that she hadn't seen or misconstrued his glance at her cousin. _You're an incorrigible flirt_ , said Sen's voice in his mind at that moment, and he winced. _But that's okay. I know you like me best._

Her deliberately overdone self-satisfaction gave him a genuine coughing fit when he tried to repress a laugh, and he didn't even bother to try to respond to her statements. Instead, he worked on keeping his emotions and thoughts as guarded as possible. Those lessons that Hijikata-san and Amagiri-san were discussing sounded like a damn good idea right about now. Of course, Shinpachi had suggested that they could both visit Satoshi-sama for training, but Harada had already decided to give that learning experience a miss. Frankly, he didn't want the Oni equivalent of Shinpachi's _joie de vivre_ and Sōji's sense of "fun" poking around inside his head. He'd take his chances with Amagiri-san.

After quite a bit of discussion, a tentative agreement was reached between the Shinsengumi part-Oni (represented by Hijikata-san) and the Oni (represented by Sen-hime and Amagiri-san). Hijikata-san would find a way to bring Heisuke and Sōji to visit Sen-hime in the near future. He would also somehow arrange visits to Sen-hime's estate in order to accommodate a few basic lessons in identifying and resisting mental intrusion and also what to look for in terms of problematic physical symptoms. Harada and Amagiri-san were a little surprised when Hijikata-san, Sen-hime and Chiharu-sama unanimously agreed that Yamazaki seemed to have analyzed the indicators of physical change quite accurately already.

"You know," Chiharu put in toward the end of the discussion, "I don't think that everything really needs to be done here. I agree that there are safeguards here, but Kimiko spoke to me a little about her routine as a _geiko_ within Shimabara. I am _not_ proposing to undertake her role"—she blushed slightly—"but I don't see why I, or Amagiri-san if necessary, couldn't do some routine training in Kimiko's quarters at the—I think it's called the Sumi?"

Sen looked very surprised (as did everyone else, to one extent or another), but she was in full agreement with the idea. Hijikata was also quick to find merit with the arrangement.

"The more we can make this look natural, the better," he said to Chiharu, with a nod of approval. "Especially since our spy seems to be fully aware of Sen-hime's residence here."

"Great idea, Haru-chan," Harada put in. "Guess that means the Vice Commander will be approving some drinking time, right Hijikata-san?" His amber eyes held more than a hint of mischief.

"Moron," retorted Hijikata without heat. "I have full faith in Amagiri-san to make it a challenging experience for all of you."

"And for you, Hijikata-san," Harada pointed out unrepentantly.

"You know," said Sen sweetly, "there's no time like the present to begin, but Amagiri is supposed to be resting. You don't want Chizuru-chan to be angry at me for setting back his recovery, do you?"

There were universal expressions of disbelief at the idea that Chizuru could or would get angry with Sen in any meaningful way, and Sen laughed.

"Still," Chiharu put in, "I do think that Amagiri should get some rest, and you as well, Osen-chan. I don't mind explaining some basic concepts to Hijikata-san and Harada-san before they go."

"Well—" began Amagiri, concerned.

"But Haru-chan—" protested Sen.

Hijikata couldn't resist. He liked Chiharu-sama for her practical suggestions, and he respected the self-discipline she'd shown on the few occasions on which they'd met. Most importantly, taking Chiharu's position would probably annoy the other two.

"I agree with Chiharu-sama," he said firmly. "Amagiri-san, thank you for your input, but based on all reports—not to mention my own observation—you need to get some sleep."

"Says the pot to the kettle," the Oni retorted softly. "But I'll go. Chiharu-sama will no doubt be a kinder teacher."

"I'm not counting on it," Hijikata told him dryly. "I have an older sister and I know what they're like."

The young woman in question gave him a scathing look before remembering that it was below her dignity as both an adult and an Oni. Harada waved his hands in a "hey, not me—remember that, not me!" kind of way.

Surprisingly, Sen didn't protest further. In fact, she was feeling the strain of the last few days; while she hadn't been as badly injured as Chiharu, she also hadn't had the same opportunities to rest. Her eyes warmed when Harada rose from the table with her. He walked her to the door, and she admired the way that his attention stayed on her despite the critical or amused looks of the others present.

" _Oyasumi_ , hime-chan," he told her quietly. Mentally—and praying that he couldn't or wouldn't be overheard—he added: _And I do like you best._

" _Oyasumi_ , Harada-san." Sen rested her hand lightly on one muscled forearm for a moment and turned to look back at the Shinsengumi Vice Commander.

"Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention, Hijikata-san. I am generally here in the mornings and evenings at the moment. I would be pleased to speak with Okita-san and Tōdō-san whenever it is convenient. _Oyasumi_." She bowed slightly to everyone, touched Harada's arm a final time, and left.

Amagiri, who had tactfully allowed Sen-hime and Harada-san at least the illusion of privacy, rose and departed a minute or so later. He had spoken with Kameko again that evening, and he had a lot to think about. He was also becoming increasingly worried about Kenshin, but he had to hope that he had not misjudged Saitō—or Yukimura-sama, Chiharu-sama and Senhime.

Once both Amagiri and Sen had gone, Chiharu turned to her "students".

"I suggest that we work briefly on mental speech and then on identifying and blocking mental contact. I think that will be enough for tonight. These are the things that you would normally learn prior to undertaking any of the Three Trials."

The men nodded, expressions serious and even slightly intimidating. They were warriors, and among the best in Japan—for humans. They weren't Oni, but their auras were clear and bright and hard, if not nearly as powerful as those of a pureblood. Assuming that word meant anything now, after Saitō's transformation. Chiharu settled her thoughts and cleared her mind. She was a lady of the Kazama and a daughter of the Lord of the Western Clans; she had nothing to fear from these men.

* * *

 **[II] - Lovers in a Dangerous Time  
 _A Play in Two Acts (depending on how you count)_**

* * *

Saitō and Chizuru walked the rest of the way back to the compound in silence. Chizuru was still trying to work out what to tell Saitō about the strange aging that she might have brought on herself, and Saitō was simultaneously trying to set aside his concern for Chizuru (who was pregnant!), figure out how to trap an Oni spy (who was likely her brother), and ponder the implications of Hijikata-san paying a visit on Sen-hime to request aid for his officers. His mental checklist had two other major outstanding items: Amagiri Kenshin, still in the control of the Kazama clan; and two young half-sisters.

The guards on duty at the gate bowed to the captain as he passed within, Yukimura-kun at his side. They had heard a rumour that Yukimura-kun was actually a girl, and possibly married to Saitō-taichō, but until it was confirmed—especially the second part—they weren't going to presume. All the indications were that the whole wild story was true, but they would as soon make a mistake on such a matter with Saitō-taichō as with Okita-taichō or Hijikata-fukuchō—which is to say not at all.

By the time that the door to their room finally slid closed behind Saitō, Chizuru was feeling slightly sick with apprehension. She hadn't found any easy way to tell Saitō-san the (probable) truth, and his current expression was especially forbidding. Unlike Hijikata-san, he never scowled and only rarely frowned, but Chizuru knew that particularly blank, distant expression just as well as any man in her husband's division. She shivered involuntarily, despite the rather unpleasant heat.

The tiny tremor, clearly visible to his watchful eyes, made Saitō blink. He realized that by withdrawing so far into his thoughts he had made Chizuru even more anxious than she had been previously. To try to atone for his insensitivity, Saitō gently hugged his wife to him and smoothed a few strands of loose hair. He sensed and heard her inhale deeply and then relax against him. They stood together for some time that way, until Chizuru moved away slightly and sighed.

"I'm better now, Hajime. But I'm tired, so I think we'd better talk now before I fall asleep on you."

Saitō nodded but kissed her before letting go completely. As always, he had to restrain a more fervent gesture, but it seemed to be getting easier. It wasn't that he desired her less, but he seemed to be accepting that she wasn't going to disappear or change her mind—he would be able to hold her and make love to her later, so he could wait now. Besides, his deep concern over her condition—the advanced state of her pregnancy—made him want to hear an explanation as soon as possible.

They settled onto cushions across from each other and Chizuru took another deep breath. She really was feeling exhausted. She wondered if it was the pregnancy or just a normal reaction to so much stress. Unconsciously, she crossed a protective arm across her flat stomach. A flash of some unidentified emotion from Hajime made her aware of the gesture and of how closely he was watching her.

"The others don't know yet," she began tentatively.

Saitō followed the direction of her thoughts. "You mean that only you and Satoshi-sama know what you discussed?"

"Yes. You see… it seems that my uncle—my uncle Satoshi-sama—did not trust my father's brother."

Saitō nodded again. "He strongly implied that before."

"Yes. Well, during the time that he spent with my parents, he learned a bit—well, actually, I don't how much—about my father's healing gifts. As a gesture of trust—at least, I think that's what it was meant to be—my father told him one of the greatest of our family secrets: the Yukimura Gift can extend to healing even the most extreme wounds but the"—Chizuru faltered, but continued to meet the blue eyes across from hers and finally went on—"the power to deal with such wounds was taken from the healer's own personal life force. Or from that of a person nearby."

Chizuru felt immediate comprehension flood through Saitō. He seemed to grasp the problem faster than she had earlier with her Uncle Satoshi. Then it was as if steel doors slammed shut across his mind and face.

"Then Amagiri and Chiharu-sama—and likely Heisuke and Sōji before them—cost you some portion of your own _life_ to heal?"

"Possibly—probably," answered Chizuru miserably, totally unable to sense her husband but knowing with absolute certainty that he was suddenly close to rage.

"And you don't know how you do it?"

"It, um, it was on purpose, mostly, with Chiharu-chan—not that I knew what I was doing, I swear, but at least I was _trying_ to fix that awful wound—but for Amagiri and the others, no, I don't really know."

"Tell me about the children." His voice was somehow flat and ice cold at the same time. Chizuru bit back the strong urge to cry.

"Uncle Satoshi thinks that since I'm physically aging when I draw on myself for the more extreme healing—like with Amagiri-san's injuries or Heisuke-kun's head-wound—and since the babies were just, um, well just _part_ of me, really, then they may have aged with me. Hajime I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do anything wrong! And, and, Uncle Satoshi agrees with me that I would _never_ , _never_ hurt my children—our children—so I probably didn't _hurt_ anyone, I just got… older. And that's everything he told me, and it's all just a guess on his part, and Hajime please, please don't be angry with me!"

Chizuru burst into tears, both arms now folded tightly across her abdomen. Saitō didn't reply to her plea immediately, but then he seemed to collect himself and grasped one of her hands, giving it a tight squeeze. She desperately wanted his arms around her, but that appeared to be beyond him. Behind the steel doors, she could dimly sense strong emotions roiling like a malevolent storm. Through their joined hands, she could feel flashes of anger, hurt, loss and despair. She didn't understand, and it frightened her.

"Chizuru." Saitō seemed to force her name between tight lips. "Chizuru, I'm sorry. Come here."

She practically fell across the few inches that separated them, and when he put his arms around her she burrowed into his chest. Then she cried—she wasn't exactly sure why—for several minutes. One of Saitō's hands stroked her hair, but she could tell that the gesture took effort, and he was still closed to her. Since she didn't know what to do, and the physical proximity helped despite the emotional distance, she stayed where she was, even after the tears slowed and finally stopped. Time passed, although it felt agonizingly slow to Chizuru, as she waited for Saitō to say or do _something_. Finally, he stirred slightly and his grip on her loosened.

"I need to think about this."

"Hajime?"

Chizuru felt his hands—no his body—tremble slightly with some kind of effort that she couldn't quite understand.

"I am a warrior. We are in a place full of warriors, any one of whom could be badly injured at any time. I will _not_ … I will _not_ have you risking your life for theirs or for mine. To take up the sword is to accept the possibility—the probability—of injury and death. You are no warrior and you never will be."

"But—"

"Be _quiet_ , Chizuru." Chizuru shivered at the repressed anger beneath the words; Saitō didn't apologize. "Don't say anything. Right now I don't care what you _think_ you can do and what you _think_ you can control. The reality is that you are two months pregnant—I'll take their words for it!—when I know that you have been with child for no more than three days."

Saitō gave an uncharacteristically bitter laugh. "Don't worry, I am absolutely certain that the children are mine. It's just another reproach for my weakness in the first place. Somebody like me should never have a wife and children. How am I supposed to protect you from yourself? Tell me that." The question was apparently rhetorical, since he continued immediately: "And I know that you won't stop. You'll want to help. And this—is—a—military—base." He enunciated each word with obvious frustration. "So what am I supposed to do? Send you to Sen-hime's so that you can spend your life force trying to save the Oni race? Or perhaps you should live in Yase with your uncle fretting over the Yukishima."

"Hajime, please, please listen to me."

"What?"

It wasn't going well at all. Chizuru forced down her panic and hurt and bent her will to strengthening the reassurance in her voice.

"We can manage this. We have to manage this. I will do whatever I have to do to protect you and our family."

"Then you will need to leave this place."

"No! I-I can't. Hajime, I will put you first—"

"You can't—to put me first you would need to put yourself first and you don't know how."

" _I_ _will put you first_." Chizuru's kept her voice steady and firm. When she felt the tears returning, she cleared her throat and continued immediately. "I will trust you to make the right decisions about what I can or can't do until I can control this particular ability. All I ask is that you do what you promised in the first place—try to respect my judgment as much as possible."

Saitō didn't respond, but she could feel him wrestling his feelings back under control. After what felt like a very long time, he shifted a little and sighed. His muscles didn't relax at all, however, and his mind remained closely guarded.

"Tomorrow we will speak with Satoshi—together. Also… it occurs to me that with Amagiri's help, I can probably learn to identify different types of magic, as he does. I take it that you may able to heal less dangerous injuries without harming yourself?"

"Yes, Hajime." Chizuru didn't dare mention that it was all guesswork, really. Besides, she suspected that Hajime already knew. "Does that mean that you won't try to send me away?" She did her best not to sound as frightened as she felt.

"I don't know."

Chizuru hesitated, and then tried a new tack. "Yamazaki-san is good at sensing when people are using the Gifts. At least, I know that Haru-chan and Osen-chan thought so. They had a lot of questions for him, you see, about what happened when he was hurt, and whether he'd sensed anything similar in the past. They think that he may be able to identify my Gift of healing. At least, Osen-chan mentioned something like that."

"That would be helpful, but how does he _stop_ you? Is he supposed to knock you out every time he thinks you're going too far? We don't even know if that would work. Not to mention that he already has a job to do that isn't babysitting you. And there is no way I'm taking you with me on patrol right now—it is too dangerous.

"I could save lives!" Chizuru regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

Saitō didn't react, however, beyond a further thinning of already tight lips. With a gentle care that belied the hard mouth and narrowed eyes, he pulled Chizuru close for a moment and then set her down on the floor in front of him.

"Chizuru, I need to go somewhere and just… absorb… this information. I want to shake you, and that is neither helpful nor appropriate. Also, if my reaction has been intemperate then I apologize. It is possible that I am somewhat fatigued."

He rose, and Chizuru had to exert all of her control not to beg him to stay. She knew that he was trying very hard not to vent the full extent of his anxiety and frustration on her, and from bits and pieces that she had heard throughout her early adolescence she was aware that he was already a more forbearing husband than most. It was a fact of life that men had nearly free rein where their wives were concerned.

Chizuru hurried to stand up as well. "You-You'll come back soon, Hajime?"

"Yes, dear one. Besides, when you look at me like that"—he slid his arms around her waist—"it makes it difficult to want to go at all. I just think it's for the best."

His wife brightened a little. She stretched up slightly and kissed the no-longer-quite-so-angry lips with her usual fervour. Saitō was a little surprised, but then his body overrode his brain for long enough for the kiss to become far more passionate than he had intended to allow. He suddenly found it very difficult to stop what he was doing. Nevertheless, he managed to disentangle himself and give his wife a rueful half-smile.

"Incentive to come back?"

Chizuru blushed. "Um, no, b-but if it helps then yes?"

"I just want to keep you safe. You _and_ our children."

The smile that lit her eyes at the last part made him afraid and warm all at once, though neither showed on his face. His path, once so clear, was obscure to him now. He touched Chizuru's cheek, picked up the Sakurai _tachi_ , and headed out to the far side of the inner courtyard to see if he could calm his mind (and put in some of the practice he needed, of course). He was beginning to understand the Oni a little better, he thought. Right now he could see the value in a remote mountain village where he could love his wife and raise his family in peace. It was so radically different from anything he'd ever considered before that just the concept was like an intruder within his being.

For several minutes he focussed on nothing other than the feel of the sword in his hands. He had worked with it for some time yesterday as well, and was beginning to adapt better to the greater length and heft as well as the slightly different curvature. The _tachi_ was still fundamentally a slashing weapon and not well-designed for parrying; however, prior examination indicated that this particular sword was better reinforced than most, suggesting that Oni sword design took some account of the greater force behind their blows. What Saitō liked best about this weapon was the way that it fit his height and build, and even his hand. At the same time, that very fact was a tangible reminder that almost everything about him was a bizarre throwback to a long-dead and previously unknown ancestor.

His parentage was his biggest problem right now, he mused. He needed to visit his birth-father and gather more information about his half-sisters in order to meet his obligation to Kimiko-sama (he tried to use the correct name even privately, so as to grow accustomed to it). Chizuru would have to come with him—it would be insulting otherwise, since she was still fit to travel and was the traditional ruler of the Shiranui. He noticed that his swings had gotten faster without his conscious volition—a sure sign that he was still far from calm. He stopped, returned to his original stance, and tried again.

"Would've thought you'd be busy with other things, this time of night," drawled a familiar voice from the _engawa_ about thirty minutes into his practice.

"Sōji." Saitō had sensed the other man's approach and been prepared for some kind of comment.

"You want a sparring partner?"

"Īe. It would make too much noise. Maybe tomorrow."

"Well, we'll see, I guess. I've got news for you—not sure you've heard it yet. At least, did Hijikata-san tell you about Takeda?"

"No."

"Kondō-san's going to make him fifth division captain tomorrow. Not that the division exists yet, but with everything going on, Kondō-san figures we'll be getting a lot more recruits."

"He is probably correct," acknowledged Saitō. "Who will have the fourth then? Matsubara?" Matsubara Chūji was a competent warrior and also functioned as their _jujutsu_ instructor. As an instructor, it would be appropriate to give him a captain's rank.

"What, no comment on our favourite military strategist? Takeda was out this evening, you know. Too bad Kondō-san gave him permission, really. Apparently he's got a new girlfriend or something."

Saitō finished a series of slow movements before replying.

"I may have seen him earlier—while we were on our way back. Would you like to try the _tachi_? You were too busy yesterday."

"You sure? I got the impression that you were a man in need of a workout. Surprised me, to be honest—I can't imagine either of you in an argument. Chizuru-chan's too infatuated and you're too silent."

"We did not argue. If you'd like to try the sword, let me know." Saitō was a little worried by the idea that Sōji might have been there longer than he'd realized. He was glad that it was dark and any tell-tale blush on his part would be hidden.

"Never figured you'd be the first married." Saitō waited for the inevitable conclusion. "Or ever married, for that matter."

As much as he'd wanted a chance to be alone, the very normalcy of trying to follow one of Sōji's one-sided conversations was somehow comforting. Or maybe it was because the need to concentrate on his footwork and on _Sōji_ prevented him from concentrating on his footwork and on his problems with… the Oni. He didn't like to think of it as a problem with Chizuru, _per se_.

"It was unexpected."

"Unexpected! Freaking out of nowhere you mean. Guess I should've seen it coming, though, after she started wearing your clothes…"

"Sōji. Is there something that you want to know?"

"Many things," responded Okita. "But… well, I guess mostly I'm curious about all the stuff with the Oni. I mean, Hijikata-san swears he's sick of them, but even he went out this evening and I'll bet he somehow ended up bumping into them."

"He did. There was a half-hearted attack by your spy friend."

"There was? What do you mean half-hearted?"

"I think the spy was expecting to be detected but thought he might as well find out what we'd do about it. He got away."

"Again. Jeez, Hajime-kun, you're usually more efficient than that."

"True," Saitō agreed, with the hint of a smile.

"And? What happened?"

"The Vice Commander decided that Sen-hime should be asked to investigate the rogue Oni. He is concerned about what might happen if the spy continues to play tricks on our captains—especially with the city being so unsettled."

"Ha. Heisuke and I almost nailed the guy last time. I think we can handle it on our own. It's just like Hijikata-san to worry too much."

"He also wants any of the captains who have interacted with the spy—you and Heisuke especially—to get some specific training."

"Big of him to be so concerned," Okita replied acidly. "You know something, Hajime-kun?"

"What?"

"I think you should patch things up with Chizuru-chan. She's kind of dumb sometimes—I mean, look who she married—but she's an okay kid."

"There wasn't an argument."

"Mind you, I don't think sex is as great as it's cracked up to be, but you only just got married."

Saitō replaced the _tachi_ in its sheath and walked over to Sōji. He had stored up quite a few useful phrases over the years, many of which he'd never expected to use. Then again, he hadn't expected to get married.

"Sōji."

" _Nanda_?"

"If that's what you think, then you are doing it wrong." Without any change in expression, Saitō turned and walked back to his room. Behind him, he heard a deafening silence and then a distinct crack of surprised laughter. Strangely, it made him feel better than he had since Chizuru had delivered her bombshell. And it was a good reminder...

* * *

Chizuru jumped up when he walked in, although she knew him well enough to allow him to put the _tachi_ away before greeting him with a hug. Saitō immediately felt guilty about the anxious look in her eyes, but he had already resolved to "patch things up", as Sōji had suggested—not that he and Chizuru had actually argued over anything.

He returned Chizuru's hug and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. It must have helped, because the worried look seemed to fade, although she stayed tightly pressed against his chest after that one quick look up into his face.

"We are going to sort it out, Chizuru," he told the top of her head a little awkwardly.

"Yes, Hajime."

Hmm. He had yet to sort out how best to reassure Chizuru at these times.

"Chizuru? Could you look up, please?"

Dutifully, she relaxed her hold slightly and looked up. Her expression was wistful and somehow also determined. Saitō put one hand behind her head so that he could kiss her more easily. He went on kissing her for quite some time, by which point he could hear her heart beating as quickly as his. He paused eventually for air and also to make sure that he had her full attention.

Apparently he did. She was chewing lightly on her lower lip, eyelids half-closed, when he started removing her clothing, making sure that she knew how much he wanted her and wanted to be with her. It wasn't easy, lowering the mental barriers he'd put up earlier, but he worked at it. Lust was a good distraction. When his fingers skimmed lightly over her breasts, before beginning to caress the silky skin more in earnest, she made a soft sound that brought all of his attention to the task at hand—so to speak. He shed his own clothing with some haste.

"At least I set out the futons," murmured Chizuru, now half-leaning against him as he ran his hands over her body. He paused in kissing her neck, which she always seemed to enjoy.

"I have a very clever wife."

"I think," Chizuru swallowed, "I think I'd like to lie down."

"Oh?" Saitō picked her up. "As you wish, dear one."

"Only… I think you're trying to distract me"—an audible gasp suggested the distraction was working—"from, you know, things…"

"I'm trying to distract both of us. Hush."

"Mmm… okay."

Saitō chose a futon at random and pulled Chizuru down on top of him.

"Are you alright?" he asked solicitously.

She huffed a soft laugh. "Y-yes, I think so. Only…" She wriggled intriguingly against his body and then propped herself up with her elbows on his shoulders. "Hajime."

"Yes?" He sighed and stared up into her serious brown eyes. "I know what you're going to say. I thought I had distracted you."

"I don't want us to be apart. I know there are risks. I know you don't want me to get hurt. I know I'm being selfish. But please?"

"I am still working things out."

"Okay."

"We will have to reach some kind of compromise."

"I know."

"And for now battlefields are right out."

"I—okay."

"You have ruined my confidence in my abilities now you realize?" he told her, only mostly in jest.

Chizuru peered at him in concern. "B-but Hajime, I was completely distracted! Except then I thought of how much I would miss, um, miss you—and so you see…"

This time his sigh was real. "I do see." It was interesting, actually. Part of his mind was still processing things and trying to scramble for some kind of acceptable solution. Most of his mind was admiring his wife. Much as he had once before, he simply relaxed and enjoyed the different perspective. Even in the dim light he could see that she was turning bright red under his scrutiny.

"Um…"

 _You distract me more often than you know_ , he said quietly to her, mind-to-mind. _Everything will be normal and then out of nowhere you'll start wondering whether I know how much you love how I look—or the way my hands feel to you—or the scent of my skin—and suddenly all I can think of is taking you to bed. It is disconcerting._

Chizuru's response, predictably, was utter embarrassment. Except it also had that overlay of ardent desire that still had the power to surprise and arouse him—maybe after a few years he would get used to it. Saitō ran his hands over her hips and waist, and pulled her down closer to him. His mouth closed around the tip of one small breast and his pulse jumped to hear her moan. With some experimentation, and only a little difficulty, he managed to slide himself within her, which was always the best, most incredible sensation—apart from all of his other favourite sensations.

Her mind, as always, was open to him—for better and for worse, because it could also be distracting at times as they both tried to work out what the other person liked best. Tonight, though, it was far from a problem. Her mind echoed nothing but desire and love and a thread of possessiveness that made him want her even more. He already knew that he was probably more possessive of her than he should be, and he kept a close watch on it. Fortunately, she told him every day—had it only been a few days?—and in many different ways that she was his, and that helped a great deal.

They were not particularly quiet that evening. Not the first time or the next. When they eventually fell asleep, too exhausted to move other than to get comfortable, Saitō's last thought was that if anyone was annoyed or offended, so be it. To hell with them—it was probably just jealousy anyway.

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/Note:** Tune in next time to find out whether Souji and Heisuke actually get to meet Sen. Or will a new calamity brought on by our favourite rogue Oni interrupt them again? When the Shinsengumi is finally to called into battle with the Choshu, will Saito put Chizuru in a vault?


End file.
